For Him She would
by it'sEmmynotEmma
Summary: A spinoff to my Lunarry (Luna x Harry) fanfiction, "The Peculiar Life of Luna Lovegood," what would it have been like if Narcissa had left Lucius on the night that the dark lord had been conquered? What would life have waiting for Narcissa and Draco, who would be there for them and who would not? Read to find out. Read "The Peculiar Life of Luna Lovegood" if you want to.
1. Leaving Him Behind

Chapter One: Leaving Him Behind

**October 31****st****, 1981**

Tonight was supposed to be the night where Voldemort conquered the prophecy, tonight was supposed to be the night that he would kill Harry Potter. His parents would be taken care of easily, even Narcissa Malfoy knew that no one could stand against the Dark Lord, but she also knew that there were rumors that claimed Albus Dumbledore was the only one that the Dark Lord truly feared.

Instead tonight wasn't going to be the night where the Dark Lord conquered the prophecy, tonight wasn't going to be where it was worth it all. Tonight wasn't going to be the night where she wouldn't have to worry about her son, Draco. Tonight wasn't going to be filled with hard liquor and a celebratory slaughter of Muggles (those that were not of the Wizarding World, non-magical humans).

It was a naturally cold night, even though the manor was supposed to be air tight and charmed to make sure that the windows wouldn't open unless she released the charm, Narcissa felt this cold chill reverberate through her entire being with the knowledge that something horrible had happened.

When her husband, Lucius Malfoy, came stumbling into the manor the look on his face allowed her to know that things didn't go according to plan. She would never wipe her mind of the memory of her first love standing in front of her with terror in his eyes, how he looked as though he had his life balancing at the end of his wand and any minute he was expecting for it to be swiped so it would crash on the ground.

"The Dark Lord is gone."

Narcissa dropped the champagne flute that was clutched in her stunningly manicured fingers. The crash of her flute hitting the marble flooring was enough of a sound for Narcissa to fall onto the ground with the skirt of her expensive green dress pooling around her.

"Are you certain?"

"There was no body to recover."

Narcissa kept her hands grasped together as she stayed on the ground, before she heard the sound of her husband stepping forward as though he was going to crouch down and touch her. She snapped her head up and studied him, noting that his aerostatic pinched features were full of weariness towards his beautiful aerostatic wife.

The pureblood slowly stood up, though she was certain that her knees were hitting each other when she stood up. She was thankful for the elegant dress that she wore and how it covered the action.

"That means that he can come back."

Narcissa bit her dark lipstick coated bottom lip as she imagined the sight of the Dark Lord coming back and making sure to murder anyone who went against him again. She would find herself in captivity with her little baby boy, and she didn't want to think of that.

"Yes…that means that he can come back. We will be ready to serve him again if he ever comes back. If not us then…" Lucius swallowed the last of his words as he thought of his son and how it took a long time for them to conceive their heir of their fortune that came with being in a long line of wealthy purebloods.

"No, out of the question, I will not allow it!" Narcissa never thought that she would raise her voice against her husband; her mother had made sure that she would be obedient to her husband. After all she was nothing more than the wife. She was supposed to let others look at her but not hear her.

"There is not a choice here, Narcissa! This is a matter of life and death! We will serve the Dark Lord and so will our son if we want to live!" Lucius yelled at her but she shook her head, she wouldn't allow it. She already said that she wouldn't allow it, what did he think? A mother would do anything to make sure that her child or children would be safe and have a healthy life.

"There's always a choice, Lucius!" Narcissa responded to him, as tears were gathering in her tear ducts. "We could move to France and have Draco go to Beauxbaton, or we could go to America and he could go to Ilvermorny, there are other places than here in Britain. We do not have to stay here."

Lucius peered at his wife, before he sighed, "It is late, Narcissa. We should go to bed. We will talk about it more in the morning, maybe then you will realize that what I am telling us to do is the right thing. It's the only thing that we can do."

Narcissa stared at her husband, her eyes widening even more at the knowledge that he was just pushing this to the side and that he wasn't going to think about their son. She had almost died giving birth to him; she had promised her little dragon when he was born that she would do anything and everything for him.

"I will come to bed in a minute. I must do something first," Narcissa finally spoke and watched as Lucius paused where he was before he looked over his shoulder. She memorized his sharp features, his deep eyes, along with his shoulder length pale blond hair that was pulled in a low ponytail.

Once upon a time they would be giggling and flirting when they were preteens and they would sit next to each other during social events when they were children. Once upon a time they had their first kiss. It was more of a peck but soon he gained confidence and the kisses became both sweeter and seductive the older they got.

The Dark Lord had made her husband the shell of a man. He was barely a teenager when he signed over his life to the Dark Lord. He had promised his future wife and son's life in that moment.

Narcissa waited until Lucius had left before she went to her writing desk and sat down. She pulled out her favorite quill and then an ink pot. She plucked a few pieces of blank parchment paper from the pile next to her. The candle next to her was lit and it flickered every now and then, casting lineaments in the dark hue of the manor.

Taking a deep breath, Narcissa wrote down all she wanted to tell her husband. She knew that in the morning she wouldn't be here for him anymore. She would be gone and she would take Draco with her. She couldn't risk the possibility of the Dark Lord coming back and killing her son.

She wrote about how she would always have a spot in her heart for him, that she would always love him, but apparently it wasn't enough love anymore if that meant that she was going to leave him without any guilt. She didn't feel one ounce of guilt with leaving him, she knew that she was doing the right thing.

Why should she feel guilty for doing the right thing? She had others dictate what she could do now and what she could do when she was younger, she had the opportunity to have her voice heard and she was going to let it be heard.

As soon as she was done and she knew the ink was dry she put the letter into the envelope that she pulled out from one of the drawers. She pressed the wax seal onto the envelope flap once the letter was in the envelope and pulled it away to show the hot wax holding the flap down—revealing the family crest.

She didn't ask for any of the House Elves, they were irritating little creatures in her opinion and she was in a maelstrom of troubling emotions. The last thing that she needed to do is tell them that they were incompetent, which in return could wake her husband ruin her plans.

Thankfully the House Elves were asleep, even they needed rest. There was always someone that was awake; they would not be disturbed for tonight. They had already checked to make sure that Draco was sleeping fine not that long ago, so they didn't have anything to do other than wait for instructions.

Slowly heading up the marble staircase, Narcissa dismissed the moving oil painted eyes that were following her. She knew that it was her husband's ancestors that were glaring at her, wanting nothing more than to see her fall down the stairs and break her neck. Or at least that was what they would want to happen to her if they knew what the context of the letter was made of.

Reaching the top floor, Narcissa glanced around before she rushed down the hallway and in the direction of where her bedroom door. She knew that she would have to go about this the proper way, and so she tapped on the envelope with her wand, shrinking it until it was tiny enough to slip between her breasts.

Entering the bedroom, Narcissa did her nightly routine of changing out of her evening gown and into her night gown. She silently cursed that she was wearing a silk night gown but she could only do so much at the moment. If she would have to leave the house while wearing the said silk night gown then she would.

She brushed her hair out, washed her face so that it was devoid of makeup, and then brushed her teeth. She slipped underneath the duvet cover and bed sheets, before she turned and kissed her husband on the cheek. She didn't know if she should feel sadness or anger at him.

She felt disappointment now. She knew that she could never hate her husband, the Dark Lord had corrupted her husband enough in the past that hopefully with her leaving he would change. Maybe he would realize that he should start looking at manors in other countries so that they could raise their son together in another country all together. Draco needed a father, after all.

Narcissa turned onto her side, the side away from her husband, and peered at the wall paper that was in front of her. She knew that once her husband was deep enough in his sleep to not wake it would be time for her to gather all of her clothes and put them into her biggest suitcase before she would do the same thing with her son's clothes and his suitcase.

It felt like centuries in her opinion as she lay there, it felt as though she was a black widow that was waiting for the poison to kick in so that she would know for certain that her husband was now dead. She would be secured with the fortune that she had married herself into.

She didn't count how long it took him to fall deep asleep but when he did she slipped out of the bed, put the envelope on her nightstand, and began to gather her things from her walk in closet. She only had the light from her wand to work with; it would be too risky to have the actual lights in the walk in closet flicker on.

She picked clothes for autumn and winter, hoping that she wouldn't have to eventually come back and get summer clothes if things didn't turn out for the best with her and Lucius in the end. She shrunk them and some shoes, along with her beauty and feminine products. She was determined to make sure that all of her precious products and favorite clothes would come with her for the time being.

She had a garnet sweater that was large on her, along with some dark silk dress pants (she didn't own one pair of jeans, she wore dresses and dress pants, along with dressy skirts) and some winter boots that she had left out for her to put on so that she wouldn't be running out of the house with the silk nightgown on.

Thankfully Draco was sound asleep in his crib, his soft blond locks shimmering from the moonlight that slithered in from the crack between the curtains. She sighed in relief and quickly changed into her travel clothes before she gathered all of the clothes and toys that her son needed.

Looking over her shoulder, Narcissa paused right before she was going to head over to her son's crib to pick him up. She knew that this was going to be the make or break moment where her son would either start crying automatically or he would stay deep in sleep.

Taking a deep breath of air, Narcissa gathered her son in her arms and levitated her suitcases. Once she was secured with everything she went downstairs, opened the front door and walked out. The door shut behind her in a resounding thud and she flinched as she thought that her husband had heard that. She was frightened that he would come downstairs and would demand that she leave her son with him.

She didn't turn around, only continued onward until she reached the gate of the manor. The gate opened, having detected that it was a Malfoy that was at the gate, and she easily went through before the metal gates closed behind her.

Sitting her suitcases on the sidewalk, Narcissa lit her wand once more and held it out before the Knight Bus appeared. It was a bus that was there for witches and wizards whenever they would need a means of transportation in the middle of the night. It was just so that Narcissa Malfoy and her infant son were going to be two of those people this night.

The driver, Ernie Prang, blinked at Narcissa in shock at the sight of such a prominent woman in front of him. Especially since the last time that he checked he was currently right next to the Malfoy Estate.

"C-Can you help me with my bags? We need to leave," Narcissa managed to say to him, and he apologized profusely before asking the young boy that was working under him to gather all of her bags.

Getting on the bus, Narcissa sat down on one of the beds that were throughout the train before she shushed her son when he woke up. "Please, take me to…"

Narcissa thought, really thought, this time as to where to go, and she knew that she couldn't go to the other high pureblood circles that she had surrounded herself with. She knew that they were all connected with the Dark Lord. They would eagerly send her back to her husband, and almost all the other purebloods hated her.

That's not to say that she didn't really care for them either.

One of her sisters, Bellatrix, was currently in a psychotic breakdown since she was in love with the Dark Lord, and her other sister was estranged from her family for marrying a Muggle. She had a daughter named Nymphadora, who was eight years old, but that was about as much as she knew about Andromeda "Tonks".

Her mind paused on the faint memory of her sister, Pandora, and how she was actually alive. She had learnt that her twin sister was alive shortly after she had finished Hogwarts, having always known that the girl that looked just like her must have some connection with the Blacks (Black was Narcissa's maiden name).

Pandora had gotten married, yes that was in the Daily Prophet, because of how odd the wedding was. Who was she married to though? "P-Pandora…"

"Pan…what? You need to speak up, sweetie. My hearing isn't as good as it used to be," Ernie informed her and Narcissa flushed for once. She hated not knowing things right off the bat. Usually she could merely push her embarrassment aside but so much was happening so fast.

She hadn't even realized that Ernie had started moving the Knight Bus forward again, or that she had adjusted Draco so that he wouldn't be upset anymore than he was. He was crying a little bit and she started to hush him while she tried to remember what the name her twin had been bestowed with.

_Love…Love something…Good? Love…Good? Lovegood!_

"Pandora Lovegood, that's her name!" Narcissa blurted out, which made some of the people that were on the bus to groan at her or tell her to hush. She dismissed them and turned to Ernie, "Pandora Lovegood's residence, please."

"Sorry, sweetie, unless I get the address then I can't take you there. Where else do you think that you can go?" Ernie probed to her, he was really patient to her and Narcissa appreciated it.

Didn't Pandora live near The Weasleys? She shivered at the memory of them and how they seemed to keep reproducing. She wanted a big family, three at the most but it seemed like Molly Weasley was going to be very fertile indeed. Narcissa did not want to know how many children Molly would have in the end.

"I don't know! She lives near The Weasleys?" Narcissa knew that she was hopeless when it came to giving out names instead of places but she hoped that they would know where that house was so that she could make her way to the Lovegood residence.

"Sorry, can't remember their residence…but I do remember the town that they live next to. Ottery St. Catchpole, yeah that's the place. I can take you there! I'll land us on the road that connects us to the wizarding neighborhood."

"Yes, thank you. That would be lovely."

It was lovely, but it was also irritating in the least for Narcissa. She had gotten used to not having to wait for anything, but at least she was occupied with her son. He was soon given his favorite toy and he eagerly played with it while lying against his mother. He hadn't yet asked for his father, which Narcissa was very grateful indeed for that.

Draco wasn't a daddy's boy; he was more of a mommy's boy to be honest.

"Ah, Mrs. Malfoy, we're here." Narcissa looked up and saw that they had indeed stopped at the dirt pathway that led away from Ottery St. Catchpole and to the secret neighborhood where wizarding families lived in.

Getting her things, Narcissa thanked them before she made her way forward. The bus went on its way and Narcissa knew that she would have to be on her way; thankfully it didn't look like a big enough neighborhood to worry her.

She had hoped though that she wouldn't be greeted with Molly or Arthur Weasley outside of their house. She knew that they were very noisy people and that they liked to know anything and everything that there had to do with people.

Sadly, luck wasn't on her side. The first house that had lights still on happened to be the Weasley house. She knew it was their house when she saw it. It was a pathetic thing to be honest, it had many layers and it was somewhat crooked and it was a complete mess. She didn't see how she would be able to survive living there.

"Bloody hell, Arthur, I told you to stop messing with that thing and look at what you just did! I have to open the front door! You better be lucky that it's not hot out there or else we'd have to be dealing with bugs!" Molly Weasley's voice reverberated as she threw open the front door, only to almost fall on her face when she saw the silhouette of Narcissa Malfoy and her…son?

"Arthur, can you come here and tell me if you see what I see? I just want to make sure that I'm not insane…" For some odd reason Molly Weasley sounded very calm, even though there was fear in her voice.

Narcissa was frozen in place, scared that she would end up being mocked and ridiculed for leaving Lucius behind and trying to start anew. She knew that she wasn't the smartest witch that ever lived and she never had a job before but now she had to start to learn to do things for herself so that she could provide for her and Draco, especially if Lucius decided not to support her decision.

Arthur Weasley appeared behind his wife, narrowing his eyes so that he could see what it was that was in front of him. His wife had better eyesight than him, which often got him in trouble since he didn't always have the best hiding places for his Muggle artifacts that he had collected over the years.

He lost a lot of good artifacts over the years, thanks to his wife.

His back hurt a lot of times too for having to sleep in his recliner on the nights that he back talked his wife for getting rid of said artifacts.

Now though he was seeing the sight of a ragged Narcissa Malfoy off in the distance with suitcases and her son.

"Narcissa Malfoy…is that you?" he called out, his hands around his mouth so that he could shout better. It was in this moment that Draco realized that the man that was yelling was not his daddy and he didn't know what was truly going on. He had been too tired earlier but now he was waking up.

"Look at what you did, Arthur! You woke the baby up!" Molly hissed at him, Arthur gave her an exasperated look. It seemed like he couldn't do anything right tonight, even though he had reassured the both of them that Narcissa Malfoy was indeed standing in the distance with her boy in her arms.

Narcissa looked in the direction of where she was going and in the distance she could see a flicker of light. She hoped that it was the sight of her sister's house. She then turned and looked at the Weasleys. Molly seemed to have made up her mind by walking in her direction with a hurried step, the nipping of the cold trailing after her.

"Narcissa, come inside, _now_. If not for you, then for your son," Molly demanded, before she lightly began to push her towards the house. Narcissa looked down at her son, shame flooding her when she saw him shivering.

Continuing forward, Narcissa made her way to the house, despite the fact that the house happened to be the home of Molly and Arthur Weasley.

Narcissa headed towards the chair that was closest to the fireplace and sat down. She soon began to make sure that her son was all right, not noting that Arthur was coming in and out of the house with the suitcases.

She was focused on her son, how his face was flushed. She went to complain to Molly when she sat down next to her and brought her hands out so that Narcissa would give her the boy.

Instead Narcissa held her son tighter, "no. No." It only made Draco start crying, having been squeezed accidentally.

She pulled away and Molly shook her head, "Narcissa, please, let me see him. You want him to be safe, and healthy. I have my _six _sons, Bill and Charlie, and Percy and Fred and George, and Ronald. I just had given birth to Ginevra in August, I am certain that I can take care of him."

Narcissa loosened her arms around Draco enough that Molly plucked Draco from her and held him. He peered up at Molly Weasley and furled his eyebrows, having not expected to be transferred from his mother's hold to a woman with bright red hair and looked nothing like his mother.

Telling her the last time that Draco had eaten, when he had his diaper changed (he was on the way of potty training), along with other important things Molly soon got busy with taking care of Draco before she returned and put the baby back into Narcissa's arms. She knew that Narcissa needed Draco.

"You don't have to tell me anything," Molly told Narcissa. Narcissa didn't know if she should tell her what had happened. She knew that Molly and Arthur Weasley were best friends with the Potters, and had apparently not been told that their best friends had been murdered by the Dark Lord.

"I just need to get to my sister's house," Narcissa responded, only for Molly to furl her eyebrows, "but Andromeda's house is not anywhere near here. I know for certain that you're not going to that…woman's house."

"I have a twin sister, Pandora. I—"

"Your twin sister is Pandora Lovegood? I wouldn't have expected that, she's an odd one for sure. I am certain then that you were on the way to her house but you don't know where she lives. I can Floo you there. We have our chimney connected with the Lovegoods since Ginny and Pandora's daughter, Luna, have play dates together," Molly informed Narcissa, who sighed in relief.

"Thank you so much…_Molly_," this was the first time that she had said Molly's name in a non-hateful manner and it tasted weird. Still, she was willing to let Molly help her, since she had taken care of Draco without needing to forcefully take Draco away from her arms.

Molly laughed, "It is very all right, Narcissa. I wish to have been able to see this more different side of you. It wasn't in our cards though. Come; let's go to your sister's residence."

Arthur handed the suitcases to both Molly and Narcissa before they went through the Floo Network and appeared in the home of Pandora and Xenophilius Lovegood. The emerald flames flickered behind them, extinguishing behind them after a moment of flickering.

Sitting in front of them on a psychedelic couch was Pandora Lovegood. She was reading a book in what looked like a language that Narcissa did not think could even exist. She craned her head to the side before she smiled, "I was expecting you, sister. I am happy to see you and my nephew. Come, sit and I will make you some Gurdyroot tea. I can take Draco from you and put him in the crib with Luna."

Narcissa blinked at her sister, finding that the house around her was filled to the brim with color and felt very alive and lived in. She had been living in what seemed like a mausoleum instead of an actual house for years.

"Please, when you are ready, you may tell me what had happened. If you ever want to tell me," Molly whispered before she went through the flames and disappeared. Narcissa felt warmth and peacefulness from her sister, she was a warm and welcoming person, someone that Narcissa felt she could fully trust.

She handed Draco to Pandora, who kissed the boy on his head, and Draco giggled in happiness at being in the arms of his aunt. He must have thought that Pandora was his mum; after all she looked just like her sister.

When Pandora came back down and gave the Gurdyroot tea to Narcissa, she sat down and allowed Narcissa to spill her whole heart and soul out to her so that she could know what had happened.

At the end of the night she fell asleep in the warm arms of her sister, finding a deep and safe sleep that she didn't think she would have tonight.

Upstairs Draco slept peacefully with his cousin.

* * *

**author's note: This is a spinoff to my Lunarry (Luna x Harry) fanfiction, "The Peculiar Life of Luna Lovegood". If you want, you can go and read the fanfiction since this is a different way the story could have gone if Narcissa had been brave enough to leave Lucius sooner with Draco than in the other fanfiction.**

**Certain characters are different, such as the Weasleys. Molly do to her loving nature, she would always care for a child no matter who would be the parent. The other Weasleys all have different opinions but Molly does end up caring for Narcissa and Draco. There is no extreme bashing of characters in this fanfiction.**

**Please let me know what you thought of the first chapter.**

**-Emmy**


	2. Splitting Blood

Chapter Two: Splitting Blood

**November 5****th****, 1981**

Draco hadn't asked for his daddy that often, though he did have moments that he had wanted to see him. Narcissa would have her heart clench in her chest at the knowledge that she was keeping her infant son away from his father, but she also knew that Lucius had yet to write to her in order to see where she was.

Her husband didn't even know that Narcissa had a twin sister or would even think that Pandora Lovegood was the twin sister. It made things easier in a sense, since she knew that she was safe here at the Lovegood residence with her son.

It was currently five days since Narcissa had seen her husband, and the last thing that she expected was to hear someone muttering angrily outside. Pandora and Xenophilius had always left one of the windows cracked open no matter the weather outside; thankfully Narcissa had cast a heating spell that was surrounding the whole house to make sure that everyone wouldn't get too cold.

Of course, when Xenophilius had come downstairs that morning to see his sister-in-law sitting on the couch with his wife he had passed out.

It took Pandora putting some herbals under his nose to wake him up, before he nervously tried to introduce himself to Narcissa. He was very frightened, thinking that he would be tortured right there on the spot from one of Black sisters that related to the Dark Lord (the other being Narcissa's eldest sister, Bellatrix Lestrange).

Today, Narcissa was sitting in a rocking chair that was in the corner of the room, humming as she was trying to learn how to coquette. Her eyebrows were furled together, and she wondered how her sister was so talented at coquetting and knitting, unlike Narcissa despite the years she tried to flourish in the tasks.

An antique wooden rocking crib held little Luna in it, it was moving effortlessly from the charm that Pandora had put on it. She was bubbling and making cooing sounds as she reached her chubby hands to grab at something. Pandora often joked and said that Luna was trying to play with the creatures she could only see.

Pandora was gazing out of the window and craned her head to the side, "It seems as though your husband has found where you are staying now. I believe it is time that you confront him and tell him what you think should happen now."

Narcissa dropped the needles that she was holding, flinching from the loud thud that they made when they hit the wooden floor. Draco was in the playpen that she and Pandora had set up for him to have fun in. He was too busy playing with one of his stuffed animals to hear what his aunt was saying.

Taking a deep breath, Narcissa nodded her head before she stood up and smoothed out her robes. She strode over to where the front door was and opened it. Lucius blinked a few times, having not expected to have his wife standing at the front door, but her twin sister instead.

"Narcissa, it is true! You are here! I believe that I had told you we could talk about this in the morning, yet here we are. Please, tell me what made you feel compelled to leave with my son?" Lucius probed to his wife, only for Narcissa to sigh and step forward before shutting the front door closed behind her.

She moved to sit down on the stone bench that was under the window that was cracked open. In seconds the window was shut and locked, apparently Pandora knew when eavesdropping was not appropriate. Some of the women in Narcissa's social circle should take notes from the odd woman.

"I wrote everything that I feel about what has happened down in that letter. I let you know that this is something that we cannot just talk about and I accept like the good wife that I am. I informed you that I will not accept anymore loyalties towards the Dark Lord if he ever returns; I have given you the option for us to annul our loyalties towards him. We could move to The States or France or other places!" Narcissa whispered this, her gray eyes looking down at her thin fingers.

"I do not want to be remembered as being cowardly, Narcissa. Leaving means that we are the weaker ones, not the brave ones, if we don't leave then we will not be killed. And of your plans for us to leave the country, find a new home, what if he returns and has some of his men come and find us? What if we are dragged back to him and murdered when we could have stayed? What then?" Lucius questioned his wife, his eyebrows furled together as he noted that Narcissa's hands were quivering. He reached his hands out and took her hands in his, soothing them in order to make sure that she would not quiver anymore.

Narcissa soaked in all that her husband said before she looked up, "I would rather die with the knowledge that I did everything I could to make sure that Draco could not be raised up with the same beliefs and morals that we had.

"It took the Dark Lord disappearing for me to realize that I cannot do this anymore. I have been selfless, pushed away all my wants for myself and now my son. We can start anew, **_I will start anew_**, and it will be with our son! It is your decision in the end on whether or not you will want to be with us."

Lucius didn't speak the whole time that she had been telling him what she felt and decided to do. When he did though he was quiet, "I cannot see myself doing that, Narcissa. I wish that I could think differently that I could think like you, but I cannot. I have seen what he has done, personally, and up close and I know what will happen if we leave and are caught when he comes back. I only ask that you keep our son safe, and that I will be able to visit him."

Narcissa blinked a few times, shock apparent on her face at the fact that her husband was giving up so easily, "what do you mean, Lucius? What are you doing? You have not been a man that gives up easily, why do you do so this time? What is your reason for this?"

Lucius pulled his hand from hers; they both looked down at their gleaming wedding rings that sat on their fingers. They faintly remembered their wedding day and how wonderful it was. It was stressful, of course, but it was still wonderful in the end. They were happy and that was what mattered.

Yet they were talking about divorce as though it was to be expected now. They were willing to separate their ways. "I know that I cannot change your mind. Your reason is selfless. I am certain that if it weren't then I would be angrier. I can only hope that one day you can forgive me for not fighting harder."

Narcissa brought her hand up and pressed her hand against his cheekbone, knowing that his eyes were sad and lifeless. They were dedicated to each other while they were teenagers, they didn't mess with anyone else. They were to be together, ever since they were babies, and now they were talking of divorce.

"There is nothing to forgive, Lucius. You are very brave, and kind to mention divorce. I was going to ask for it, but not right now. I believe that we can terminate our marriage in the New Year, finish off this year together then it is done. We can still remain friends, though if he comes back, I will have to cut all ties with you."

"And what of Draco, what will happen between him and me? I want to see him, not be apart from him," Lucius commented, only for Narcissa to peer forward at the rolling dry grassed hills and soaking in the coolness of the late autumn chill.

"Goodbye Lucius," Narcissa quietly whispered to him before she stood up from the stone bench and began to make her way towards the wooden front door. She barely moved before she felt a hand wrap around her arm, "I don't know, Lucius. I really don't, as of now I don't know if you should see Draco."

"You can't keep him away from me, Narcissa."

Narcissa paused as she felt the arm on her tighten, as though letting her know that he had as much if not more power in the Wizarding World than her. She wrapped her hand around his before she pried his hand from her arm. She turned to look at him, really look at him, before she sighed.

"Would you still go back to the Dark Lord? That is my question, for we both know that I will do anything to make sure that Draco will not be in contact with him," Narcissa calmly probed to him, only for Lucius to loosen his shoulders and his eyes to flicker with knowledge that this was going to determine if he could see his son or not.

"How far would you go to keep him away from me?" Lucius shifted his feet, glancing up to see that his sister-in-law was moving around inside the house. She was picking up Luna and held her softly in her arms. She moved to sit down on the floor next to the playpen that was installed for Draco.

"Farther than you could ever imagine. I know that you are a good man, Lucius, or at least you are to me. You lost yourself along the way though and allowed someone else to control your life." Narcissa paused as she reached out to touch the doorknob before she turned around, "I think it would be for the best if you don't see Draco for now, we'll decide what to do when we start the process."

Narcissa opened the front door and entered before shutting the door behind her. She locked the door and then turned to find that Pandora was still sitting on the floor near the playpen. She still held her infant daughter in her arms, rocking her to and fro without truly noting that she was doing so.

"You can stay here, just so you know," Pandora told her before she turned her head, her soft gray eyes showing nothing more than patience. "I know that I told you before that you could stay here, but I mean it, Narcissa. You have decided not to be in the company of evil anymore, you're going to give your son a chance to blossom in the light and not shrivel in the dark."

Draco had his head craned to the side, as he listened eagerly to his aunt's voice. He knew what his other aunt looked like, she scared him though. She had scary features and she looked at him weird. This aunt was nice, she had a soft smile and she was pretty. She looked just like his mommy too.

"Thank you, Pandora. I have no idea where else we would go. I know that Andromeda and I departed on rough terms, to put lightly. I do not think that she would care for me to come up on her front door with Draco, telling her that she was right. She'd only have me there for pity, I am certain."

Pandora shook her head, "She wouldn't let you be there, especially with Nymphadora. Nymphadora grew up knowing nothing more than you are being evil, maybe even a victim, but our sister wouldn't let Nymphadora change her opinion on you. She wouldn't understand, both of you broke your sisterhood as soon as you were old enough to."

Pandora stood up and ambled her way to Narcissa before putting Luna in her arms. Luna smiled largely at her aunt and reached her hands up in a grabby manner. Warmth flooded through Narcissa as the maternal instinct came up; it had been a long time since Draco was this small.

Behind her she could hear the opening and closing of kitchen cabinets before her sister began to make another pot of Gurdyroot Tea. Narcissa felt her stomach clench at the memory of the tea, she had drunk barely two sips before Pandora had laughed lightly, claiming that she didn't need to drink it.

Pandora sat down in one of the odd shaped drawing chairs that had constellations stitched upon the fabric of the drawing chair. The chair was navy blue, but the constellations were bright golden, shimmering as though there was actual gold thread that was spread throughout it.

"I saw you the first time when I was in Diagon Alley; I must have been around six. My parents were very protective of me. They knew that if I was out and about all the time that people would start asking questions. They would think that my parents had kidnapped me away from our family, though that is further than the truth. We know the sins of our parents, and we know the sins of ourselves. It is up to us to acknowledge those sins and repent for them."

Luna went to grab at the golden necklace that Narcissa wore. It had emeralds throughout the necklace, and they shimmered, it reminded her of the Egyptian Pharaohs. She had gone there once upon a time; it was an artifact that an archeologist witch had given to Narcissa as a welcoming gift.

"I looked at you and I just craned my head to the side. I felt as though there was missing from me, and when I looked at you, I thought to myself, '**_I know you_**,' I didn't say anything though. I didn't have the chance to do so; my mother caught on and pulled me away before our mother saw me."

Narcissa soaked in all that her twin was giving her and knew that this was the first time that she could feel warmth from a sister. She never talked to Andromeda after Hogwarts, and Bellatrix was another woman all entirely. Her life was devoted to the Dark Lord; if she was asked to, she would have conceived a child for him in order to make sure that his evil deeds would live on.

She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. It was almost as though Pandora knew that there weren't any words that were needed to be said. She merely picked up Draco from his playpen and studied him for a moment, "I believe he looks more like you, sister. I am certain that he will be adorable in a sweater that I have just decided I will make for him."

Narcissa blinked a few times, before she felt herself smile and then laugh, "I should have expected that you would automatically fit the role of a proper aunt, Pandora. I'm happy that Draco will have a good aunt now."

Pandora merely ran her fingers through the blond locks that her nephew had, she was certain that although Luna and Draco looked nothing alike, they still looked as though they were related. They looked like cousins ought to, in a sense.

"Molly is wondering if she can come over with Ginevra, I told her that was all right. If you don't want her here, then I can tell her to come another time. I know that you have just gotten here a few days ago, not even a week. It would make sense if you didn't want to be in her company so far."

Pandora gave Draco a kiss on his forehead, which made him eagerly giggle in delight at the affection that he was receiving from his aunt. She was content with her daughter; she never felt the need to have more than one child.

Still it was quite fun to hold her nephew in her arms, her longing to hold him was finally quenched. She had been so excited when she found out that her twin had a son, though she had become frightened when word had gotten around that Narcissa almost died during childbirth.

"It is all right if she comes, if it weren't for her and Arthur then it is certain that Draco and I would have died out there. The weather was unpleasant, and I was frightened. I thought that the others in the Dark Lord's loyal social circle that hadn't been gathered up by the Ministry would have found me and killed me."

"Very well, I think that I'm going to walk over there to get them. I quite like the cold weather; little Luna is the same. She always calms down whenever I have the window open; I think it was because she was born on a very chilly day. I trust that you will be able to watch over Luna," Pandora decided before she put Draco into his playpen, despite the fact that Draco seemed as though he was going to whine at the fact that he was not in the snug hold of his aunt anymore.

"That's fine."

Pandora gave a sweet smile towards Narcissa, one that was not full of judgment. There was no disappointment or weariness. She didn't expect for Narcissa to betray her, she just knew that her sister was hurting but she wasn't evil. She wasn't like Bellatrix, she wasn't like Andromeda, but she was Narcissa Malfoy.

Narcissa sat Luna back into her rocker, only to quickly grab her again when the baby start crying. She had gotten so comfortable with her aunt and had almost fallen asleep, but her aunt put her back. She just wanted to go to sleep! She wanted to go to sleep in someone's arms, not in a rocking crib!

"Shush, shush, everything is fine, Luna. I won't let you go. I'll be here for you," Narcissa whispered as she rocked the baby in her arms, feeling tears begin to rise in her tear ducts. She had always wanted a daughter; she had always wanted to dress her daughter in the prettiest dresses with the prettiest fabrics. She had wanted to teach her daughter how to wear makeup when she was older.

Maybe in a way Luna could be that daughter Narcissa never had. She could be the one that Narcissa could gift dresses to. She could be the one who would wear dresses that Narcissa wore when she was her age, she could have high heels when she was a young woman that Narcissa had custom made for Luna.

Yes. That didn't sound too bad.

Tears fell from her cheekbones and a few hit Luna on the face. She craned her head to the side, wondering why her aunt had water running down her face. She didn't cry though, even though she could see winged creatures floating around her aunt. They were pretty, just like her aunt was.

Narcissa held her niece as softly but tight as she could, forget that her son was sitting in the playpen for a moment. Draco didn't mind though, he had fallen back onto his blanket that was sprawled out on oak floorboards, falling asleep since the heating spell that Narcissa had cast was making him relax.

Narcissa felt herself become more relaxed than she thought; she closed her eyes and leant back so that she could soak in the warmth of the heat spell. She never had a house that she occupied where it felt warm and happy. All the houses in her past weren't full of life and laughter. She had tried to do that at her house, but there was only so much the wife of a Death Eater could do.

Her eyes opened when she heard footsteps heading up to the front door. She knew that it was her sister and Molly Weasley that were heading to the front door. So Narcissa sat upright completely, her back tight. She was prepared to get up and go upstairs only for the front door to open and the women to enter.

Pandora came in, smiling warmly with her beautiful handmade sweater, dark washed jeans, and odd tennis shoes that were based on mood. She turned her head, smiling at her sister and heading towards her. Molly on the other hand had limper hair and clothes that she must have worn yesterday and forgot to change out of.

"You knew, didn't you?" Molly managed to probe; Narcissa could only nod her head in confirmation that she did know that James and Lily Potter had been killed by Voldemort five days ago.

"Are you truly happy that _he _is gone?" Molly stayed where she was, holding Ginevra close to her in order to make sure that Ginevra couldn't see the blonde woman on the ground and think that it was Pandora.

"Yes. I felt relief. I feel free," Narcissa responded, confessed, as she looked down at her niece. For a moment she thought that she was at confession. The Priest would be telling her that she would be going to hell anyway, just because she had married a Death Eater. Only, she wasn't.

Molly looked away once more, as though she was soaking in the truth from the woman, before she turned her head and looked at Narcissa. "I felt anger when I learnt that you knew. I just thought that your husband was being an abusive jerk, I didn't think of the fact that there was more than that."

Narcissa shook her head, "he has never hit me."

Molly didn't have to look at her closer to know that Narcissa was telling the truth. There was no curling of the body, or the eyes flickering to the healing bruises and cuts that were on the body.

She slowly made her way to Narcissa and peered at the playpen where Draco was sleeping peacefully. She could tell that he was happy, and that he was safe, and that he hadn't felt this warmth in a long time. She had a feeling that the Malfoy Manor was not the best place to raise a child.

Narcissa handed Luna off to Pandora, who took her infant from Narcissa's arms, before she stood up and made her way to Draco. She smiled at him with the uppermost of love. Molly craned her head before she sat down in a chair that was placed next to the playpen, her eyes wandering over the boy before looking up at Narcissa.

"One of my friends is a Healer, she's a wonderful woman. I can ask her to come over so that she can check on Draco. I am certain that he's fine, but it would still be best if we had a Healer come and check on him…along with you," Molly offered, letting her eyes change from looking at Draco to Narcissa.

"What of the media? I—"

Molly raised her hand, letting Narcissa know that she was going to have an answer towards that concern. "Beth is not that kind of woman. She was there when Harry was born; she was the one who made sure that Rita Skeeter could not get anywhere near Harry and his parents. She will not allow that vile woman anywhere near you, or the other media."

Narcissa once again took in all the offers that Molly had and knew that she should accept this. Molly had just lost her best friends, yet she was here offering help towards a woman whose husband was a faithful follower to the man that had ruthlessly murdered Molly's best friends.

It was the least she could do.

Beth arrived the next day; she was a pretty black woman with onyx black curls that were pulled up in a simple braided bun. She wore a winter sweater, dark washed jeans, some nice boots and a beautiful lime green pea coat. She didn't bat her eyes at the random taxidermy pieces that were around the ground floor of the house, nor the odd colored furniture.

She smiled warmly at Narcissa before she reached her and sat down next to her. She took her hands in hers and rubbed her fingers against her wrists as though to comfort Narcissa. "I don't know everything, but all I know is that you're a brave woman to leave him. There was no abuse, but there was something that made you realize that you need something better."

Narcissa watched as Beth looked her over, "I see that there is stress, and you haven't been getting good sleep. I have some sleeping potions with me, just in case I needed to bring some. Pandora has been given you plenty of food and though you need to eat a little more I am certain that once you sleep you will start feeling better."

Beth stood up and headed over to Draco. Narcissa stood up so that she could and look at Beth evaluating her son. Beth nodded her head before she turned to look at Narcissa, "he is fine, healthy. You both are. Just keep drinking lots of liquids, eat good food, and get well rested."

Narcissa nodded her head, letting the Healer know that she would do what she asked of her. Beth turned to look at Pandora, "do you mind if I go ahead and have you and Luna examined too, Pandora? I am here, after all."

Pandora allowed Beth to do just that, and both Pandora and Luna were fine. Though Beth had a look of exasperation at the knowledge that Pandora was finding herbals that were benefiting their health but weren't actual health remedies that were acceptable in the eyes of St. Mungo's and the board of Healers.

"I am going to go and see Molly now. I am always visiting her. It was nice to meet you, Narcissa. Take care." Beth waved goodbye to them and shut the door behind her, leaving Narcissa with her sister, Draco, and Luna.

Pandora locked the door before turning around and heading in the direction of where the stove was so that she could make some Gurdyroot Tea.

It didn't take long for Narcissa to smell the horrendous scent of the Gurdyroot Tea being seeped. She was slowly getting used to the smell, though she still didn't know why her sister and brother-in-law were so incessant on drinking the substance.

Apparently, there was this fish that lived near here in creeks and rivers that could drown people by letting the victims think that the fish were in shallower water than they were in. If you ate Gurdyroots then you would be fine, because they would ward off the fish.

Narcissa merely stood up and went towards the kitchen area, so that she could get a biscuit that Pandora had made. Pandora had baked it first, so that she could teach Narcissa how to bake. To say the least Narcissa was weary about it, but now she was looking forward to learning how to cook and bake. She could make birthday cakes for Draco for once, and she could bake to relieve stress that she gathered throughout the day.

As she sat down and began to eat the biscuits that Pandora had made, Narcissa had hope blossom in her. It had been a long time since she had felt hope and now sitting here, she felt as though she could have a good future for her and Draco here with Pandora, Xenophilius, and Luna.

**author's note:  
I will be updating the fanfiction with two chapters per update. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.**

**-Emmy**


	3. Christmas of 1981

Chapter Three: Christmas of 1981

**December 25****th****, 1981**

Narcissa's definition of Christmas in the past was dark, cold, and formal. There were no warm lights that were strung up on the railings and there were no mistletoes that were around the manor. Her parents didn't wear nice Christmas outfits, no she and her sisters wore black formal outfits like their parents.

Now though, Narcissa found herself waking up on Christmas morning by Pandora. The woman was smiling at her brightly, her curls wild and her face a little red from revealing that she had just washed her face. She wore a bright red pajama robe that on closer inspection was actual silk.

"Wake, sister, it's Christmas!" Pandora beamed at her, Narcissa would have groaned and rubbed her hands over her face if it weren't for the sudden knowledge that she hadn't gotten anything for Pandora and Xenophilius.

She sat upright and reached her hand out so that she could take her sister's hand in hers. Pandora craned her head to the side, studied her, before she smiled and giggled, "oh, sister! I know that you remembered that you hadn't gotten anything for me and Xeno. Worry not; I assure you that we need not anything. Having you and Draco are the best gifts that I could receive. Be reassured of this."

Narcissa got up from the bed after a moment of taking her sister's reassurance in and followed her sister down the spiral staircase to the ground floor. Xenophilius was sitting at the couch and was playing with Luna. Luna was squirming though, she kept whining until Xenophilius sat her in her little whicker basket (the laundry basket had many different blankets in them).

Draco beamed at the sight of his cousin and began crawling in her direction. When he reached her he touched her face and her little tuffs of hair. He was taken by his cousin; she was so pretty!

Luna giggled, making happy sounds at the love and affection that her older cousin was giving her. Her misty gray eyes that had specks of blue in them had frightened Narcissa when she first saw those eyes. She had asked Pandora if Luna was born blind, or if she had an eye condition that would lead to blindness.

Pandora had laughed and shook her head, telling her Luna had perfect eyesight and that Narcissa shouldn't worry about Luna.

Now though, Narcissa made her way towards the Christmas tree. She had decorated the tree with her sister, while Xenophilius was making sure to have all the presents that they had ordered from Diagon Alley here.

She sat down on the floor and looked at all the presents that were under the tree. She had given Draco the best presents last year, even though he was a couple months old. There were presents that he probably wouldn't need until he was twelve but now, she knew that there was no point in him trying to use those worthless presents. She could easily sell them and give the money to those that needed them.

"Xeno, tell her Merry Christmas!" Pandora hissed behind Narcissa, which in return made Xenophilius get up and make his way towards his sister-in-law. Narcissa glanced up, finding that he was looking at her wearily. She knew that he hadn't cared for her, was possibly frightened of her, and didn't know why his wife had named Narcissa as Luna's godmother.

"M-Merry Ch-Christmas, N-Narcissa," Xenophilius managed to stutter out.

Narcissa peered at the man that her sister had married. He had crooked eyes, limp blond hair that fell at his shoulders and not that striking features. She didn't see anything that attracted him to her, personally, but she knew that there must have been something there for Pandora when it came to marry Xenophilius.

"Merry Christmas, Xenophilius," Narcissa responded before her eyes flickered in the direction of where her son and niece were. Draco looked up at her and gave her a large smile that was warm, having had grabbed the attention of his mother.

Narcissa made her way towards her son before she scooped him up in her arms. She sat down on the psychedelic couch, her eyes scanning the room around her, before they set their attention to the pale baby that was in her arms. He was the only thing that mattered in her life right now.

She could tell that Draco was somewhat curious about his mother but at the same time wasn't. He was too busy looking at the lights that were strung around the ceiling of the ground floor. They were mere Muggle faerie lights that Pandora had bought the last time they were in town.

Narcissa only looked up when she heard presents being sat in front of her. They were in shiny Holiday wrapping papers, and big bows that were ostentatious to say the least. They screamed that they were from people that cared about the receiver and people that loved Christmas in its whole.

Narcissa had to admit that she still felt awkward even though she was certain Pandora would have her stay with her and Xenophilius and Luna for as long as they needed to. She could even tell that Pandora would have them stay with them forever if they wanted to.

"Go on, Narcissa, open a present! I don't care which one," Pandora commanded, her hands waving towards the two presents that she had gotten for Narcissa and Draco. Narcissa grabbed the one that was meant for Draco.

She sat him next to her on the couch and ripped off the wrapping without being a mongrel, before her eyes landed on a knitted Onesie, along with a matching toboggan and gloves. They were obviously made with love and were a pretty light blue that would bring out the blue in his eyes.

Narcissa picked up each of the pieces for the ensemble and studied them before she sat them down onto the wrapping paper. She tapped her fingers against her pants before she looked up at Pandora. Pandora was taking a slow sip of her Gurdyroot tea, but she merely smiled when she pulled the rim of the cup away.

"You don't have to say anything, dear. Just you actually putting the outfit on him would let me know that you like—"

"I-I…t-thank you, Pandora," Narcissa managed to stutter out, her eyes flickering over to Draco again. He was picking up the gloves and looking at them with marvel. "I l-love them, they're perfect."

Pandora smiled widely at this, "I've been told that I'm a pretty good knitter, thought that I should put my love and skill to work when it comes to my sister and my nephew. I spoil Luna too much."

Narcissa furled her eyebrows, "d-did you just say that you knitted something for me too?" She looked down at the bigger box and picked it up, sitting it on her lap. Pandora nodded her head, "course I would. I'm not going to not make something for you either, Narcissa. You are my sister, through and through. I'll always love you."

Narcissa opened the box that was meant for her. Sitting nestled in a rainbow assortment of tissue paper that covered it, was a beautiful sweater that was in the same hue as the Onesie and its pieces. Warmth washed through Narcissa at the sight of the love that her sister had put in for her, how she had said that she loved her because she was her sister even though Narcissa didn't try to contact her.

"I love them, Pandora. Thank you for the sweater too," Narcissa spoke clearly this time, letting Pandora know for certain that she loved her. She appreciated the presents that her sister had given to her.

Again, Pandora assured Narcissa that it was nothing, and Narcissa watched as her sister opened a present that Xenophilius had made for her. It was an odd object and Narcissa didn't know the meaning behind it, nor what it was exactly but it seemed as though Pandora loved it because she squealed and wrapped her arms around her husband before she kissed him on the cheek.

Luna had gotten a toboggan with fabric flowers sewn on; every inch of the fabric was full of the pretty flowers. It was warm and colorful even though it was December. If Narcissa had a daughter then she would have envied Luna for having it, but she was just had Draco, so she didn't.

Narcissa was content with the gifts that she had received from her sister, one for herself and the other for Draco. She never imagined that she would even be here to begin with, to even end up like this, but these presents were randomly made, and they were filled with love, nonetheless.

They were what made her feel content with this, with the knowledge that her sister had handmade these presents and she hadn't just gone to Diagon Alley to buy something worthless.

The Lovegoods finished opening their presents and Narcissa was soon welcomed with Pandora heading over to where the fridge was. Narcissa sat Draco down on the floor next to his cousin, while Xenophilius was observing the children, and walked in the direction of where Pandora was.

Pandora pulled out a random casserole, Narcissa didn't know what it was made of, but it did smell somewhat nice, and put the casserole down onto the kitchen counter. She turned to look at her sister, "I'm about to go and get dressed so that we can go and visit the Weasleys. We always like going to have Christmas morning with them; you can come if you want. Molly said that is all right."

Narcissa was still hesitating; it had almost been two whole months that she had been here with her sister, brother-in-law, and niece. If things were different then she would still be at the manor with her husband and her darling Draco.

They would be sitting stiffly in their stuffy manor, with their stuffy dress clothes. Everything would be black, not how they were right now, and she still didn't know if she should even be here to begin with when it came to celebrating Christmas with them.

Narcissa shrugged her shoulders, before she turned to look at her son. Xenophilius was sitting at the psychedelic sofa and still watching his daughter and nephew with the uppermost attention. Even if he was terrified of who his wife's brother-in-law was, he still was looking at his nephew.

She thought of Draco, and she thought of him being around other children. She wanted him to be raised up with a happy household. She thought of Bellatrix's miscarriage. She thought of her sister being a shell of herself, cracking herself straight through the middle at the knowledge that she had lost her baby before they even had their sex determined. She had wanted a baby so much, only with the Dark Lord of course, but she still wanted that baby.

Unlike Narcissa, Bellatrix only wanted a child so that she could raise them to be a follower of the Dark Lord. She wanted the child to be nothing more than a truly evil person in the end. She wanted the child to have complete loyalty towards their parents, Narcissa was certain Bellatrix and the Dark Lord would make sure that the child would murder someone in cold blood as soon as they would be able to hold a wand steadily. It frightened her with this knowledge.

"I'm going to go get dressed; I'll be back in a minute. Then if you want to come with me and Xeno you can tell us so that we can watch the kids while you go and get dressed," Pandora informed Narcissa, earning a nod from her elder twin before she hurried up the stairs. Narcissa headed over to the couch and sat down by the time that her sister reached the top of her stairs.

Xenophilius had yet to voluntarily converse with his sister-in-law. He was still petrified that the Death Eaters would come swooping in, or he was petrified that the Dark Lord would appear suddenly in his front yard. He would come storming in and destroy them where they stood, all because his wife had allowed her sister to come live with them along with her son.

"Draco and I don't have to stay here anymore if you don't want us to," Narcissa addressed, both her brother-in-law but also about the subject in its entirety. She knew that it would be easier if they approached it now, after almost two whole months, instead of when she would be here with Draco for six months.

"I-It's f-fine," Xenophilius stuttered out, flinching from the obviousness that was there when it came to him feeling extremely uncomfortable with the thought of Narcissa and Draco staying at his house. "I w-worry a-about Pandora and Luna, that's all."

Narcissa nodded her head as she turned away from the strange looking man and down to her niece that sat within her little rocking crib. She plucked her niece from the crib and wrapped her arms around her, softly, "I'm nothing like Pandora, though me and my sisters all look like some extent. Pandora is my identical twin, so it is even worse for her…"

Narcissa smiled at how her niece peered up at her with her peculiar eyes and large mouth. How she giggled and reached her fingers up to play with her aunt's hair, it was all so adorable.

"Having children were expected of us, I was betrothed to Lucius since I was a three. It made sense to my little mind; my parents made it so that we wouldn't feel confused or feel like we were strange for keeping up with the old pureblood ways…

"Bellatrix is the eldest, and she was betrothed to Rodolphus Lestrange since they were little too. She has never cared for marriage, for children…she sees them as social advances. She has never loved Rodolphus, I am certain that you do not need for me to tell you who it is that she wished she could have had those two with because it is obvious even to an outsider's point of view…"

Xenophilius tightened up even more, but Narcissa felt that it was time for them to go over this hurdle. She would go through the steps of divorce after the New Year and she could stay here for a month or two after she and Lucius finalized the divorce. She wouldn't stay here that much longer after that.

"Andromeda is the middle child, and she has been disowned because she decided that she should put our lifestyle aside and marry a _Muggle-Born _wizard. Oh, Mother was furious. Oh, she said that if she ever laid her eyes on Andromeda ever again, she'd cast the Killing Curse on her without a second thought, nor would she ever have any regret in doing so…"

Narcissa took a deep breath and brought her head up so that she could look at the fireplace. She didn't want to look at her son nor her niece at this moment. "I am certain that Mother would do the same thing to me now. I've decided to push away from the dark side, just like Andromeda did. I find no appeal in marrying anyone but a pureblood, of course, but I have left my family behind…"

She snapped her head up and towards the staircase, "you can come down now, Pandora. I've said what I've needed to say."

And indeed, Pandora Lovegood came downstairs in a simple red silk Christmas dress with a white fur cloak clasped over it. A small little emerald brooch clasp kept the cloak together; it shimmered from the sunlight that filtered throughout the circular ground floor. Her hair was pulled up in a high bun, pieces of her hair fell in little curls, and her wand was tucked behind her right ear.

"Have you decided if you want to come with us to the Weasleys? As I said before, I am certain that Molly and Arthur would be happy to see you," Pandora declared, excitement was reflected in those gray eyes of hers. Narcissa looked down at where her son and niece were before she nodded her head.

"Marvelous! I'll watch the children while you two go and get ready." Pandora ushered them up from the spots on the couch and sat down before she paid complete attention to her daughter and her nephew. Narcissa lingered for a second, to peer at her sister and then at her son, before she went upstairs.

The House Elves sent more clothes to her now; Lucius must have realized that she was never going to step into that manor again. He never came with the clothes, never tried to beg for his wife to come back to the manor. He merely had the clothes shipped to her and then that would be that.

Narcissa shuffled through her different clothes before she found a simple emerald green turtleneck sweater and some black dress pants. She slipped them on before she put on her black high heels and brushed out her hair. Her eyes turned their attention to her wedding finger, where her diamond ring still sat nestled against her finger. It reminded her of what was to come and what had just happened.

She reached her right hand out, letting her hand hover over her left hand, as she felt tempted to grab the ring and throw it into the toilet before flushing it. She knew that if Lucius had cheated on her, had abused her, then she was certain that she would have done it without a second thought. He hadn't done those things though, and so she felt no need to do a dramatic thing such as that.

She let her fingers wrap around the ring and begin to pull at it before she shook her head; she knew that she wasn't ready for this. It was only two months! She didn't know how some of these women could just stop wearing their wedding rings when they and their husbands split.

She left before Pandora could come walking into the bathroom, questioning her elder twin on why she was still lingering in the bathroom. Narcissa wouldn't blame her, though she admitted to herself that she wasn't suicidal. She would die for Draco without a doubt, but she wouldn't take her own life. That was selfish and cowardly, and she wouldn't leave Draco like that.

When she entered the living room again, Pandora had the fireplace lit. It was prepared for them to Floo into the Weasley abode. At least Pandora had enough common sense to have this prepared instead of them walking through the Scottish snow so that they could visit the nine-member family.

Draco had been changed into his new ensemble that Pandora had knitted for him, and warmth washed throughout Narcissa at the sight of the love that her sister put into the outfit for her nephew.

Reaching them, Narcissa scooped Draco up from where he was in Pandora's arms (Luna was snuggled up in Xenophilius's arms) before they went through the fireplace and entered the living room of The Burrow (as it was lovingly referred to).

The eldest Weasley, William "Bill" Weasley, was sitting in the living room. He was eleven, and he had the trademark red hair and freckles. He gave them a polite smile.

He seemed content with the extra people that were in the house, having not batted an eyelash towards the sight of Narcissa or Draco. As far as he was concerned, they were just visiting family members of the Lovegoods.

He had been Sorted into Gryffindor, just like the majority of the Weasleys before him, and he was reading a book that he had received from his parents. He was in his First Year and had decided to come home for Holiday, a common thing that most First Years did when it came to Holidays.

Then there was Charlie, he was nine, and he was in the kitchen. He was still eating breakfast while his mum was making sure that everything would be perfect for the Lovegoods (she had made extra incase Narcissa decided that she and Draco should come eat with them).

Percy, their third eldest, was only five. He was sitting next to Bill and was intently reading the advanced book that was higher leveled than his brothers'. He obviously was a bookworm even at his young age and seemed as though he didn't care for anyone. He dismissed the Lovegoods and gave a weary glance at Narcissa. It was apparent that he had heard from his parents and how they loathed the Malfoy family.

Narcissa could tell that this boy was _not _going to want to be around Draco, only because of the Malfoy reputation. She would have felt bad about it if it weren't for the fact that she knew her family.

She still would have liked for Draco to have the approval of all the family though, because she knew that she would be in Pandora's life more—which also meant that the Weasleys would be around.

The sound of giggling resonated in the kitchen, letting Narcissa know that the cause of the giggling could be from the twins, Fred and George Weasley. They were three and Pandora had told her that they were born on April 1st of all days. They lived up to their birth date; it was obvious that they were going to be the tricksters when they went to Hogwarts.

Their youngest son, Ronald "Ron" Weasley, was older than Draco. He was born in March (March 1st actually), while Draco had been born on June 5th. He was in the kitchen also, though when they heard footsteps heading downstairs, they were greeted with Ginevra snuggled in her father's arms, and it was apparent that Arthur Weasley was extremely tired from staying up late with his daughter.

Narcissa didn't know how they could do it. She had always wanted children; she wanted at least three children. She couldn't imagine herself having **_seven_** children! Seeing this right now made Narcissa realize how loving and strong Molly and Arthur Weasley were. It was something that she admired.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, Narcissa was hit with the aroma of homemade food that she hadn't had in a long time. The House Elves were the ones that made the food at the manor, and even then, they had one of the House Elves try the food to make sure that none of the others had poisoned the food.

This was strange, odd, but as she sat down at the kitchen table and observed the family moving around her with both chaos and organization it dawned to her how this was how a true family acted like.

She got up from her spot at the kitchen table about fifteen minutes after sitting down before she headed back into the living room. Percy glanced up, the gleam of the glasses hitting and sending a glare directly at her from the floor lamp next to him. He closed his book and stood up before he wandered upstairs, whether to go to his bedroom to put his book away or just to stay there until lunch she didn't know.

Bill rolled his eyes; he had shut his book closed as soon as she sat down. His hair was on the edge of growing longer, but she knew that not that far in the future Molly would force him on the stool so that she could cut his hair back to an appropriate length. He looked fine with longer hair, though most boys didn't look good with longer hair at his age.

"Ignore him; he's a Git, even at only five. He listens to our parents too much. Ma didn't tell me about you, and your son, but word gets around Hogwarts…" Bill let it drift off, and Narcissa glanced at the kitchen. Pandora was showing off Draco, explaining the outfit that she had knitted for him.

Narcissa didn't say anything, but Bill didn't push her any further. He was respectful to her, even though he must have known how her and her husband (along with other family members, married into or immediate) treated them.

Molly came into the living room; she was looking around as though she was expecting to see Percy still sitting at his spot on the couch. "Where's your brother? I told him to stay in here."

"Went up to his room," Bill supplied to her, making Molly tense up for a moment. She muttered something under her breath; she was pretty good at muttering because Narcissa couldn't hear what she had said.

Though Narcissa wouldn't be surprised if she learnt that Molly was going to give him a spanking or at least give him a stern talking to (if what Bill told her about Percy was true, then she was certain that a smack on the bum or a stern talking to wouldn't change how he felt towards her).

"Excuse me, Narcissa; I have to talk to Percy. Please know that his actions don't display how we feel about you," Molly assured her, though Narcissa knew that she meant to say: _his actions don't display how we feel about you…now._

When Percy appeared on the stairs, Molly was yanking him by the back of his ear. He was whimpering, while Molly was whispering threats to him. She wasn't going to show any lenience towards the rudeness that her son was displaying.

Narcissa smiled when Pandora came back into the living room and sat Draco in her arms. Bill stood up from his spot on the couch and headed over to her, before he began to play with Draco.

At least one of the Weasley children was going to accept her and Draco, maybe others would in the future.


	4. Starting Anew

Chapter Four: Starting Anew

**January 10****th****, 1982**

Narcissa silently counted down the days in her mind when it came to her going to Gringotts in order to start the paperwork between her and Lucius for their divorce. She hadn't had a family member of hers in a long time divorce their partner.

She knew that her family had a few affairs in the past, though there were rumors in which people said the affair children were secretly disposed of when they were born so that they could never be raised. If they were raised, then that meant they could voice their concerns and want for money.

The day that she had to go to Diagon Alley she was greeted with Pandora asking if she could tag along, at least walk around Diagon Alley with Luna and Draco. Narcissa had been surprised; she didn't know that her sister would want to come with her.

It wasn't like she was going to be in the room with Narcissa and Lucius. She was smart enough to know that she wouldn't be allowed in the room, much less be invited into the room to see her sister start the divorce papers with her husband.

She dressed in the sweater that Pandora had made for her, curled her hair softly, and put on light makeup. She kept her wedding ring on though she didn't know if there was an actual point to do so when she was in the room with Lucius. She didn't know if he would be wearing his wedding ring, though she didn't see a reason why he wouldn't want to keep the ring on since they still loved each other.

"You can come with me, I don't mind. You can walk around with Luna and Draco, I'm certain that they'll be excited, and the fresh air will do them well," Narcissa mused, earning a gentle smile from her sister.

It was apparent that this meant the world for her sister, just doing little things like this helped strengthen the bond between the twin sisters. They had gone decades without each other.

Xenophilius was focused on his work, which happened to be working for _The Quibbler_, which he had been working at for about a year. He was at his writing desk and he was checking to make sure that everything was the way that it was supposed to be, since he was the editor.

Narcissa dressed Draco in the Onesie that Pandora had made for him, so that she could be matching her son and so that she could show that she appreciated that Pandora was there for her. She was there for her during this hard and different time, it was something that Narcissa never thought that she would ever do. She didn't think that she was the divorce type, but then again no one ever thought that they were until it would happen to them.

They went through _The Leaky Cauldron _and although Pandora waved hello to the bartender and owner, Tom, Narcissa kept her head forward and Draco almost clutched close to her. She still wasn't accustomed to being out here without Lucius, she wasn't used to the thought of being a single mother, she always had Lucius next to her and she always had imaged that they would die **_married_**.

Narcissa dismissed Tom as Pandora properly introduced her to him, her eyes flickering towards the bartender as he gave her a weary but welcoming smile. She wondered if he was thinking that Pandora must truly be a loon for wanting to welcome her sister into her house—especially because she had been under the watch and servitude of the Dark Lord.

As they went through the secret, magical brick entrance of Diagon Alley, Narcissa found that the place was packed. She thought that it wouldn't be packed, since the students were already back at Hogwarts, so that meant that there would be less people.

Instead there were still a lot of people, by now everyone knew that Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy were divorcing. They peered at Narcissa with curiosity, wondering the real reason why they had decided to split. Some must have thought that there was cheating involved, or maybe it was because she was told that she couldn't have anymore children.

Pandora hooked her arm around Narcissa's, their children staying in the two-seat stroller that Pandora had bought a few days ago. Their children were peering up at the gray and murky skyline, the cool air around them both making the blankets over them warm them.

Narcissa was thankful that Pandora held her close, or else she would have made sure that she would have hooked her arm around her sister's. She knew that in the past being a Malfoy was one of the greatest things that happened to her, she was proud to be married into the Malfoy family, but now she couldn't imagine herself continuing this marriage because of the fact that the Malfoy family was as connected to the Dark Lord as the Blacks were (it also meant that if the Dark Lord came back they would flock back to him without hesitance).

There was light snow that drifted down from the sky above them and melted on the cobble stone pathways. Witches and Wizards kept their arms together around their cloaks as the wind circulated around them, rustling the cloaks and their hair.

Reaching the loaming bank, Narcissa took a deep breath and turned to her sister before she pulled her arm away. "The appointment shouldn't take more than an hour, so I'll meet you at _The Leaky Cauldron_ in an hour."

Pandora reached down to take Draco out of his seat before she handed him over to Narcissa. Narcissa wrapped her arms around her son, taking in his own scent that he had, before she handed him back to Pandora. Pandora placed him back into the stroller, "good luck, sister," was said before Pandora headed down the right street so that the children could look in the stores with her.

Narcissa straightened up her back, tilted her chin up, before she walked up the stone steps to the elegant front doors of the bank. The doors opened with a loud swoosh, allowing her to see the beautiful lobby that was in front of her. Everything was of the best quality; the stone was the best in the world along with the metal and the gold. The goblins had obviously built this bank to be one of the best in the world.

Her eyes landed on Lucius standing next to one of the goblins, the short and ugly creature was waiting with irritation. Goblins were known for being very impatient; everything had to be in order and pristine condition. There could be no room for mistake, so appointments had to be on time.

Reaching her husband, Narcissa gave a small and soft smile, "hello, Lucius."

Lucius gave a small smile back at her; there was sadness that was lurking in his eyes. It was the same amount of sadness as Narcissa's. They both never imagined that they would end up here to file for divorce.

"Come with me," the goblin commanded as he waved his clawed hand in the direction of where the offices were. Narcissa saw in the corner of her eye that a few of the purebloods in her social circle were holding their hands up to their mouths in shock or to laugh at the situation in front of them.

Narcissa followed the goblin, with Lucius next to her. He reached his arm out and she hooked her arm around his, a sign that they weren't angry with each other. They still had class even when it came to a separation between them. She could say that she was acting better than Mrs. Zabini.

Mrs. Zabini wasn't unaccustomed to coming here for a divorce; she had just divorced the wizard that helped bring in her son into the world. Blaise Zabini was supposed to grow up with Draco so that they could become friends, but that was not what was going to happen anymore.

The long, exquisite corridor held beautiful metal doors. Each door depicted a weapon that the goblins had crafted in the past. Most of which had been taken from them to be given to witches and wizards, who in return made the goblins grow to loath witches and wizards as an entire race.

Reaching the metal door which depicted the only animal on the door, the dragon that took care of the gold within the bank, the goblin opened the door and both husband and wife trailed after the goblin. A wizard stood at the end of the marble desk, he had files out and opened for them to look at.

The man was obviously in his mid fifties with nicely styled dark hair that fell around his ears, it had been combed to perfection. He had average features, with a nice suit on. His deep hued eyes flickered up from the paperwork so that he could look at the husband and wife.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, I have been assigned to be your lawyer in this case. I will make sure that there will be no problems," the lawyer informed them, as he walked around the desk and headed towards them. The goblin glared at them; it was apparent that he was not in the mood to deal with this.

"Thank you," Lucius stated, while Narcissa headed to one of the chairs. She sat down on the right side of where the lawyer would sit while Lucius sat across from her. The lawyer headed towards his assigned seat.

"You're welcome. Let us start with the reason why you have decided to separate," the lawyer started, clasping his hands together and putting his hands onto the table once they separated from each other—palms against the table. He let his eyes drift towards both Lucius and Narcissa before he glanced at the goblin. The goblin stood near the doors; his beady eyes stuck on them.

"We decided that we have drifted apart. There's not much that we agree on, and we aren't as happy as we were before. So, we knew that we should separate," Narcissa spoke up this time, her eyes flickering towards Lucius. He nodded his head, allowing her to know that she was doing fine.

The lawyer nodded his head, writing down what she had said. She didn't know how she should feel about this. She was used to being scrutinized but when it came to her private life, she and Lucius were well, the very definition of the word.

"Do you feel the same way, Lucius? Do you agree that divorce is the best option now?" the lawyer waited patiently, his pen tapping against the papers, the sound of the pen hitting the paper was irritating.

Narcissa would have put her hand on his hands to make him stop tapping the pen, but she couldn't. It was too improper.

"I agree, we both have decided this is the best course of action for us. I have already decided that Narcissa gets half of our fortune." Lucius turned to look at his wife, while Narcissa peered at him with shock. She shook her head.

"I cannot accept the money, Lucius. I need to make my own money, not rely on our money even after the divorce," Narcissa responded, knowing that the Narcissa from Hogwarts would have slapped her across the face for even considering the thought of divorcing Lucius—much less not accepting the money.

The goblin gave a sly smile, his sharp teeth revealing themselves for a split second, before he cleared his throat, "I am certain that arrangements can be made either way. You will be getting money, Mrs. Malfoy. Your lawyer has paperwork that you need to read over when you are alone concerning your wealth."

Narcissa fought the urge to shiver. She never did like goblins; she didn't have a true opinion towards Professor Flitwick. He was half goblin, but he was nice. He was too enthusiastic in her opinion, but he wasn't as irritating as Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall never cracked a smile and had a vendetta against Slytherin, so it made sense that Narcissa hated her.

"Very well, thank you for telling me," Narcissa remarked, her eyes tearing their attention away from the ugly creature and back towards the middle-aged wizard. He looked as though he was excited about his job, but most of all it looked like he would brag to his friends and family that his cliental happened to be Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.

She tried to pay attention to the rest of the appointment that she had with this irritating lawyer, her eyes always drifting towards her husband more than the man that just wanted to speak about the disaster that was the marriage between Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. She was just happy that he wouldn't be satisfied since there wasn't some nasty affair that was between her and her husband.

The thud of paperwork being dropped onto the marble surface of the table made Narcissa flinch, along with jolt, from the sudden loud sound, and it was enough that she knew that Lucius was glaring at the person that had sat the paperwork down onto the table in that manner. She noted that the person that had sat the paperwork down hadn't been their lawyer, but it was the goblin.

"Here is the paperwork that you will need to read by the time we have our next appointment," the lawyer spoke, as the goblin moved away from her. She didn't turn her head to look at the winkled goblin. She inwardly shivered from his short closeness near her; she never had someone that close to her except for Lucius…

Sick paleness erupted on her face as she hastily shoved the chair back and jumped up before she hurried towards the doors that led into the office. She didn't look back, only focused her attention on the restroom that was a few doors down. She threw open the door and fell in a heap in front of one of the toilets before she threw up as she remembered the Dark Lord.

She remembered the first time that he had asked that she be in his presence shortly after she had married Lucius. He had the darkest shade of eyes, and his features were still beautiful but stone cold. It unsettled her that he could look young and old at the same time, as though immortality hung on a thin wire when it came to him. He would eventually have his youth forever or he would wither away.

She remembered him circling her like a vulture observing its prey, how he smirked at her with his white teeth gleaming. How his back was rod straight, and how he reached his hand out to touch her chin before moving her head side-to-side in order to make sure that she would look as beautiful as he wanted her to be. Those hands were cold, colder than death, and yet they burned as though dry ice was being sewn into her skin.

She didn't know how long she was in the restroom, but it was long enough that by the time that she had left she was welcomed with Pandora waiting in the lobby of Gringotts with Lucius conversing with her. Draco and Luna were in their stroller seats, and Draco was reaching his hands up in a grabby manner.

Lucius bent down and scooped up his son, his arms quivering at the thought of him having to be separated from his son once more, and held him as soft as he could though with enough closeness that it would take some persuasion for him to let go of his son. Narcissa would allow him this for once; she didn't know when they would learn from the Ministry which one of them would end up getting custody of Draco.

Narcissa slowly made her way towards her husband, self consciously reaching her hand up in order to make sure that she didn't have any left-over vomit that was encrusted on her lips. Just to make sure she reached into her purse and wiped away whatever excess vomit was on her with one of her spare handkerchiefs. She threw it into the trashcan that was near her, before she straightened her back and headed directly in the direction of where her sister and husband were.

As soon as she reached them, Narcissa was welcomed with Pandora craning her head to the side before she nodded. In a way she was assuring her sister that she saw that she was in emotional pain and that she would be there for her. It might not be shown in such a public setting, but she would be there for her when they would arrive back in the Lovegood residence.

Lucius turned to look at his wife, (how long was he still able to call her that? Not that long, it seemed like. The Ministry often had divorces finalized quite earlier than others depending on how well known the couple was and how high they were in the work rankings of the Ministry) and reached his hand out to touch her wrist.

It was such an intimate moment. If things were different, she would have wrapped her arm around his and lean herself into his side. She wouldn't be here though; she would be back at the manor. Since they weren't though, this felt foreign and alienated from how things had been for the past few months.

"I gave your paperwork to your sister," Lucius informed Narcissa, who turned to look at Pandora. Her twin pointed at her crotched satchel that had the same spell on it that Molly Weasley had on her purses. It was the spell where you could put as much as you wanted into your purse without ever losing space.

"Thank you," Narcissa responded, as her eyes drifted over to Draco. He was snuggled in his father's arms; he seemed content in this moment.

It made her heart clench with the knowledge that the Ministry might decide that Lucius would never see Draco ever again. She never wanted her son to grow up without his father, but that might just be what would happen. He would grow up knowing what had happened between his parents, from others and not from his family, since she was certain that it would be common knowledge.

"What I said earlier is true, Narcissa."

Narcissa didn't have to have it elaborated to know what her husband was telling her. He would give half of their money to her without a second thought, but like she had told him earlier she didn't feel the want or need to have his money. None of the money was really hers, she just used his money, she never tried to go and make money for herself in the end.

"Just like what I said earlier was true too, Lucius…" Narcissa glanced over her shoulder, noting that some of the purebloods were still here. Irritation leaked through her, revealing its ugly face towards the purebloods that shifted suddenly from the look she was giving them.

"I think that it's time for us to leave. I don't want to stay in the public eye any longer," she admitted a moment later, earning a nod from Lucius. He kissed Draco on the top of his head before he handed over the infant to Narcissa. She wrapped her arms around him and just held her son close to her.

"Take your time when it comes to your decision. Like I said, Narcissa, I have no problem whatsoever with you getting half," Lucius told her, making Narcissa sigh inwardly before she nodded her head, allowing him to know that she had heard him though they both knew that she wouldn't go through with taking half of his fortune. She needed to make her own money.

Lucius bid her a goodbye before Narcissa and Pandora left Gringotts and headed in the direction of where _The Leaky Cauldron_ was. The sooner they got there the sooner they could Apparate themselves away from here and back towards the house.

There was a good amount of witches and wizards that were at the inn, some of them were sitting at the oak tables while reading books or they were drinking their tea. A few of them glanced up to look at the sisters before they looked back down at their books or went back to whatever else they were doing. Others weren't like that, obviously, they stared at the sisters longer than they should.

Tom waved nicely at them, and Narcissa gave a tight-lipped smile at him. She still didn't know how to properly smile at the public. She had always had a blank face; she didn't like others knowing how she felt. The only ones that knew how she felt were her family, but even then, it was limited.

As soon as they arrived back at the house, Narcissa let out a breath of relief before she entered the residence. She kept her eyes on her son. He was curled up in her arms and was content. He seemed happier, calmer, now that he was welcomed with his father once more. He had gotten love from Lucius, which he hadn't had in a few months. He had been deprived from his love because of Narcissa.

"You look tired, sister. Why not go to the bathroom and take a nice bath? I know that it can relax you. I'll even make you some warm tea for when you get out," Pandora offered, her eyes showing nothing more than warmth. Narcissa nodded her head, only because it sounded nice.

"Do you have anything other than Gurdyroot though?" Narcissa probed, earning a soft laugh from her sister. "Of course, ever since I've had your company, I've made sure to get some variety when it comes to teas. After all I don't really know what kind of tea you like."

It was true, for the little over two months that she had been in the company of Pandora and Xenophilius, Narcissa had stayed away from tea. She had had her fair share of tea when she had drunk the tea that her sister thought was good. She was just lucky that she hadn't sat by the toilet to throw up the tea.

Narcissa did as her sister probed her to do; she went upstairs to where the bed was that had been placed in Luna's bedroom for her and glanced around. The crib where her son and niece slept in still was on the other side of the room. The strange quilt over the simple bed that was good enough to have her sleep a good while still sat spread out on the bed.

She went over to where the dresser was for her, it had been painted by some artist in some foreign wizarding alley a couple countries away, and it had been charmed so that the flowers bloomed and closed every few seconds. Though it wasn't exactly Narcissa's style it still was pretty, and it was calming. She knew that it could have been worse colored or had weirder artwork on it.

Grabbing some more relaxing afternoon clothes that she had bought with Pandora at Diagon Alley one afternoon, Narcissa headed towards the second bathroom that was in the house. She opened the door, being greeted with soft wallpaper and a claw foot bathtub that had a golden faucet (she was certain that it wasn't pure gold) and the usual toilet and sink.

Turning on the water after she sat her clothes onto the toilet seat, Narcissa fixed the water to the temperature that she wanted before she plugged the drain. She peered out the round window that was in front of her, seeing the forest and the hills that went as far as she could see. It was quite beautiful, a different scenery than she had been greeted with for most of her life.

As soon as the water got to the perfect height in the bathtub, she stopped the faucet and took off her clothes. She slipped into the water and sighed as she felt her muscles loosen. She had had a long and stressful day. She deserved to have a relaxing and warm bath without having to worry about having a House Elf enter without meaning to or being interrupted by her husband.

She stared up at the peaked ceiling, finding that there were flowers that were painted above her also. It was more in a mural style and it was quite enchanting. She craned her head to the side. She thought that they reminded her of the Sistine Chapel, where Leonardo De Vinci had sat on his back and painted the beautiful scenery that made up the ceiling of the church.

She had been there with Lucius; they had traveled Europe when they had gotten married. They had gone to so many different countries and she fell in love with many of them. Of course, she had to admit that France had been her favorite, which was part of the reason why she wanted Draco to go to Beauxbaton instead of Hogwarts.

She stayed in the bath for quite a while, enough that she could tell when the water started to get cold. If she had thought about it, she would have put a heating spell on the water, but she knew that she needed to only stay in the tub for a while. She didn't need to waste away her afternoon with sitting in bathwater.

Getting out of the tub, she pulled the drain, and cast a drying charm on her hair before she dried herself with her towel. She slipped on the soft cotton long sleeve shirt, a pair of loose bell bottom jeans that were worn by Pandora for the longest time, and some wool socks.

It was strange to be wearing jeans, but they were quite comfortable she had to admit. The shirt was too. She felt like any other woman now, one that wasn't weighed down by her pureblood ways or by the reign of the Dark Lord.

By the time that she had gone downstairs Pandora was sitting smugly in her drawing chair, while sipping on her Gurdyroot tea. She was peering at Luna and Draco, which were both lying in their playpen sleeping away. She had a tender look upon her face as though she thought that this was perfection.

As soon as she looked up Narcissa felt as though she was finally where she was meant to be. She knew that this would become home and she knew without Pandora she would have been absolutely lost. With her sister by her side though she knew that she wouldn't have to walk this road by herself and that meant the world to her.


	5. Looking Forward

Chapter Five: Looking Forward

**May 14th, 1982**

Many things had happened since Narcissa had decided to leave her old life behind her last Halloween. She had spent her first Christmas with her sister and family, she had spent her New Year having a nice little feast with the Lovegoods and the Weasleys, and most of all she had been able to celebrate Luna's first birthday.

She even got to make Luna's birthday cake with the help of Pandora, she let Pandora frost the cake with the mood-based icing that changed to the main emotion shared by everyone in the room. It was of course yellow, since everyone was happy.

Now it was May, and Narcissa had officially had all her seasonal clothing here at the Lovegood Residence. She didn't have anything left from the manor anymore; everything that she had wanted was brought here. She knew she needed to separate herself from the world that she had left behind. She needed to start anew; she could only hope that good things were what would come for the future.

It was the day that she had to go to Gringotts for the finalization of the divorce. She had already learnt that an uncle of hers had wanted to give his money to anyone who decided to leave the Death Eaters, because he knew he wanted at least one person to know the wrongs of the world.

He wanted someone to escape from the dark grasp of the Dark Lord, yet Andromeda had denied the money, saying that she needed to make her own money and separate herself from her family entirely.

Narcissa planned on saving the money for Draco when he was old enough, in fact she was planning on splitting the money in half so that half of it would go to Draco and the other half would go to Luna. She had become like a daughter to her, it only made sense that she would give her some of the money. She hoped that Luna would accept the money, when she was old enough to receive it.

Dressed in elegant navy-blue robes, Narcissa took a deep breath as she stood in front of the fireplace. She glanced over her shoulder, her beautiful whitish blonde hair pulled up in a high bun, noting that Molly Weasley was watching the children. She gave Narcissa a reassuring smile, as though letting her know that she was doing the right thing. She had come to take care of the children because Pandora had to go to some party with her husband for the Quibbler.

"Everything will be fine, Narcissa. I'll be here watching over the kids," Molly assured, making Narcissa feel a little bit better. She had to think positive even in this sad time, she nodded her head a second later before she picked up the Floo power, calling out the bank's name, before she went through the green flames.

Walking out of the fireplace, Narcissa let her eyes wander over the ostentatious bank. A few of the Goblins glanced up from their paperwork, before they realized that it was just one of the clients that had an appointment. They went back to their paperwork, not looking up again.

"Hello, Narcissa," a soft voice spoke, Narcissa turned her head and saw that her soon to be ex-husband stood next to the fireplace. He gave her a manageable smile and she shot him back one. There was no reason why they should be smiling; this was a sad time indeed.

"Hello, Lucius," she whispered back before he held out his hand towards her. His palm was facing upwards and she let her hand fall in his.

They headed in the direction of the same room they had been using since the beginning of this. The dragon design welcomed them before they went through the door and noted that their lawyer stood in the same spot as the last times. The same goblin that had been presiding over the divorce case let his eyes wander towards them before they went forward again.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, it is good to see you! Though it is sad that we must gather for this occasion," their lawyer greeted them as he headed around the marble table so that he could welcome them properly.

Narcissa sighed inwardly as he brought her pale wrist up and kissed the Black Crest ring that sat snug on her right pointer finger. She had started wearing it again when she knew that she would go back to her Maiden name. She didn't know how to feel about it, it made her think about her eldest sister.

Sitting down in one of the elegant chairs, Narcissa noted that the lawyer was beaming, happy that he had been allowed to stay and be able to witness this occasion. A part of Narcissa wanted to tell him that he was an arse, but she knew that it wasn't ladylike for her to call him that. He just wanted to be their lawyer because of the publicity he would get from the divorce.

"It says here that you will be going back to your maiden name, Black. You have already accepted the money left for you from your late uncle. You will not accept any money from Lucius, and you want half of the money you got from your uncle for Draco and the other half for your niece, Luna Lovegood," the lawyer spoke, earning a nod from Narcissa. He moved the piece of paper over to Narcissa; she looked over it before noting that everything said what it was supposed to say.

She quietly signed it before giving the paper back to the lawyer. He turned towards Lucius and found that the man was stone faced; he made sure that he didn't show any obvious emotions towards what was happening. He had it down pat by the time that they graduated Hogwarts.

"As we have discussed earlier, the Ministry has decided that you will be under House Arrest. You will be a year without having supervised visits with Draco," the lawyer addressed Lucius.

Narcissa remembered the anger that took over her ex-husband and how he was angry that he had to be under House Arrest. The only saving grace had to have been the fact that in a year he could have Draco visit him.

"Please sign this so that it will go into effect immediately." The lawyer pushed the piece of paper towards Lucius; he quietly signed the paper with his green feathered quill, his eyes scanning over the paper once more. Narcissa noted in the corner of her eye the goblin that was quietly observing the meeting.

"The last thing that you need to sign is the change of your name. You will not be allowed to go into the Malfoy vault anymore, only Lucius and Draco will be allowed to do so. Any attempts of entering the vault and you will be escorted out of the bank," the goblin finally spoke, breaking his silence. Narcissa did not remark on his statement, she wouldn't try to sneak into the vault. She wasn't that kind of person; she knew that Bellatrix would, but she wasn't her.

She was numb as she signed her last piece of paper she needed to sign, knowing that she was stuck with the last name she had been born with. She knew Bellatrix would be glad that someone other than Sirius had the last name once more.

She didn't cry, she had already mourned the loss of their marriage. Then again maybe when it was their wedding anniversary she would cry. She would be without him; she would know that things were different. They wouldn't celebrate together; instead they would have no wedding anniversary. It would just be a harsh realization that they were done, they were separated.

Molly was sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea in her hands, her mind not on anything when Narcissa went through the fireplace once more. She looked up at the blonde witch and sat the cup of tea off to the side, before she patted the spot on the sofa in an open invitation for her to sit next to her. Narcissa didn't think much about it when she sat down next to the red-haired witch.

Her eyes were focused on Luna and Draco; there were an array of toys that were spread throughout the ground floor. Merlin knows how many times Narcissa had tripped over them; she had to resist the urge to cuss, since she knew that it wasn't proper to do so. Besides she didn't want to cuss around the children.

"Well, I'm a Black again," Narcissa finally said, as she turned to look at Molly. The woman soaked in what the other woman said before she decided to say something, "this is your chance to show that there isn't anything wrong with being a Black. As far as I can remember _he _wanted nothing do with the name, we thought that he could be good. Turns out that was a façade."

Narcissa knew what Molly said, word had spread that her cousin had been the one who had told the Dark Lord about the Potter house. He was the secret keeper; he had gone after Peter Pettigrew and killed him along with a dozen Muggles on a street. He was currently in Azkaban.

"Lucius won't be able to see Draco until next year. Even then there's going to be supervised visits. He's on House Arrest until the Ministry will decide that he's not a threat anymore. They didn't say when that would be," Narcissa added a moment later, knowing that the old Narcissa would slap her if she learnt that she was on good terms with Molly Weasley.

Narcissa knew the truth; she knew that Molly was only trying because of Draco. She didn't want the poor boy to grow up without knowing what true love was like when it came to family. She knew that Narcissa hadn't joined her husband and gotten the Mark, she knew that Narcissa had done the right thing and put her son first. She wasn't going to let anything bad happen to him.

Eventually though Molly left, kissing both the little kids on their cheeks before waving goodbye to Narcissa. It was a nice summer afternoon, so she had decided that she was going to walk back to The Burrow. Narcissa preferred using the Floo Network instead of walking all the way to the house, but to each their own.

She didn't want to think anymore about Lucius. She knew that things wouldn't change. She wouldn't, couldn't, go back to him. She had left that life behind. She didn't regret it either, even though others would have thought she would. No, she was proud of the fact that she got to give her son a good life.

She busied herself with little things, not only to shorten the time but to also have Pandora come home. She felt as though she was a trespasser, before long they would decide they didn't want her on their property anymore. They didn't want to bother when it came to Narcissa.

The moment Pandora came through the Floo with an intoxicated Xenophilius by her side, Narcissa let out a breath of relief at the sight. Pandora glanced down, expecting to see her baby and her nephew but they were absent from the floor. She didn't worry, she knew they were up in the shared crib up in Narcissa's bedroom.

When they would grow up, they would stay in the guest room downstairs, though they might have to figure something out when the kids would be forming puberty and were getting older. Until then they wouldn't have any problems. There were too many people in the house meant for only three, five was pushing it.

Narcissa didn't say anything, just watching as her sister helped her husband up the stairs so that she could tuck her husband into bed. Besides, Narcissa knew better to let Xenophilius sleep things off. He was always mumbling about things, too low for anyone to hear, but he would get paranoid after saying them.

It was quite disturbing in Narcissa's opinion but then again, her brother-in-law was an enigma she wouldn't ever understand. She respected Pandora, she found love and though it was strange, most people wouldn't understand it, she still loved her husband with her whole heart.

Thankfully there was no fussing upstairs, neither of the children woke from their slumber. Narcissa loved her Draco and Luna but she wasn't in the mood to care for them, she wanted to be in the company of her twin.

Pandora wisped down the curved stone stairs in a flower printed nightgown, her blonde hair down from its bun. She smiled gently at her twin before she wordlessly went over to the kitchen stove and put some tea on for them both.

There was no strong scent of Gurdyroot tea, which meant that she wasn't making the tea. Instead she must have been making one of the other herbal teas that were mostly used by normal people and not those who believed in animals even thought of as abnormal in the wizarding world.

Pandora wordlessly handed over a yellow cup of tea to Narcissa, it was a ceramic cup and strangely shaped so Narcissa had a feeling it had been made by her sister. It was a stunning shade of yellow, it reminded Narcissa of the time that she had been in Hogwarts and managed to see the Hufflepuff Common Room open—revealing a room which reminded Narcissa of a secret hideaway.

"You know…I was friends with Lily and James," Pandora admitted, as the fireplace still was burning, the warmth glow assuring them that they were meant to be sitting at the couch and drinking tea late in the night. Narcissa furled her eyebrows even though it wasn't ladylike, confusion showing strongly.

"We were in Sixth Year when they came to Hogwarts," Narcissa pointed out, as though reminding her sister the age gap between her and the Potters. A sting of sadness hit her a moment later, knowing that poor boy, Harry, wasn't going to be able to grow up with his parents.

"I am aware of that, sister. Unlike you, I was friends with everyone. It didn't matter what House they were in. Well I didn't have any friends with Slytherin, no one wanted to be friends despite being a pureblood." Pandora took a long sip of her tea, her shoulders loosening up, as her eyes peered forward at the fireplace. The flames flickered strangely, against her silver irises.

"Wasn't Lily friends with Severus though? Did he not care for you?" Narcissa couldn't help but ask, which in return made Pandora nod her head, confessing that Severus did not care for her.

"Severus was very protective of Lily, as you know. She was his first love. He was always afraid that he would lose her, especially in the beginning. He wanted her to himself, so having anyone else try to be friends didn't sound good to him.

"I believe he was afraid that if she had friends that were in other Houses, even in her House, meant that the friends would try to sway her to stop being friends with him," Pandora explained, which in return made Narcissa soak in what her sister said. She always had a feeling that Severus was obsessed with that Evans girl.

"I managed to talk to her whenever Severus was not around. He was often being bullied or chased around by the Marauders, during those times she would be in the library," Pandora continued, before she paused. Upstairs they could hear Xenophilius groaning. He must have been struggling to go to sleep.

"Excuse me, sister, I must tend to Xenophilius. I hope you understand." Pandora did have sadness in her eyes for a second, as though she was upset that she couldn't continue this conversation with Narcissa, but the other sister wasn't hurt at all.

"Of course." Narcissa motioned with her hand for her sister to go and tend to her husband. She was certain that others in her old social circle would have been insulted on how they couldn't continue their conversation, well their gossip, but Narcissa wasn't like them. She had proved that in the past.

As she waited for her sister to come back, Narcissa stood up and moved quietly in the direction of where the window was, which had the bench under it outside, and noted the warm lights of The Burrow in the distance. She liked to imagine Molly and Arthur were relaxing in the living room, the both already done with talking about how their day was, and they were merely enjoying each other.

A lone tear dripped down from her right eye, barely noticeable, but still there. Narcissa reached her hand up and wiped away the tear, knowing that at least she didn't have anyone around her to judge her…. not that she thought Pandora would ever judge her. She liked to imagine in due time Molly could trust her fully, but she had only truly known the woman for seven months.

There were those she had known since she was born who she couldn't trust, though there were plenty that didn't trust her. Andromeda certainly was one of them.

She remembered how she stood in their house with her mother next to her and watching her sister stride out of the house with her head tilted up. She had made her decision and she was sticking to it; she was going to taint their blood. Their blood would never truly be pure anymore.

Narcissa didn't see herself marrying anyone other than a pureblood. It was installed to her at a young age and she couldn't tear herself from that. Her parents made sure it was sewn deep within Narcissa so she would never have any complaints about it. She was just like Bellatrix; they both saw no point in marrying anyone who was not of pureblood (then again…there were rumors that Voldemort was a half-blood and Bellatrix was in love with him).

She hadn't heard anything about Bellatrix, other than the fact she hadn't eaten almost at all. She was killing herself slowly, and she was quick to anger. She was ready to kill anyone who came too close to her as though she was merely a wild animal that was in captivity. Her life had no meaning without Voldemort, her life revolved around him. She had no life without him.

When Pandora came downstairs, she seemed as though she was ready to go to sleep, she smiled softly at her sister and came over to her. Leaning down to kiss her on her cheek she mumbled, "good night, sister. I am sad that we are not able to continue our conversations together, but I am tired. I shall be retiring for the night."

Narcissa smiled back at her, "I'm going to retire to bed too. Sleep in tomorrow if you wish, I don't mind taking care of the children earlier than usual."

Pandora ceased what she was doing, and nibbled on the corner of her mouth, as though she didn't know how to feel towards this. She always wanted to be the one who did things for her sister, she didn't want to make her sister feel as though she had to do things just because she wasn't feeling well.

"Don't argue, I've already decided," Narcissa told her before she ushered her sister upstairs. She went over and took care of the tea before she grabbed the cast iron poker to make sure she could slowly stop the fire.

That used to be a chore the House Elves did, but Narcissa hadn't been in the company of House Elves in months. She had slowly gotten used to doing things, along with cleaning. She didn't have really anything on her mind whenever she would clean, she liked cleaning with her own hands for some odd reason. She didn't like using her wand like Molly did—Molly had Narcissa over a few weeks ago and had been cleaning, telling her how relaxing cleaning was.

Narcissa did as she said she would do the next morning, she woke as the sun was rising. She had to admit she had started to sleep in now that she wasn't tied to such strict rules, she had the luxury. She did wake up yawning a little bit, slipped on her silk robe over her matching silk pajama set and headed to where the crib was so she could check on the babies.

Soon Draco would be turning two, while a few month ago Luna had turned one. The both had begun to become two peas in a pod. It tickled Narcissa to death, knowing that her son would have a cousin who he could grow up with and love unconditionally. A cousin who wouldn't judge him, a cousin who wouldn't have a negative opinion on him due to her.

Narcissa brought both children down to the ground floor, before she fed them. They ate eagerly, talking to each other in their own way. Neither one of them seemed as though they cared that they couldn't really understand the other, and it made Narcissa smile softly at them.

Once they were fed, all three of them changing into their day clothes, Narcissa went over to the fireplace and used the Floo Network so that she could poke her head through the fire and see if Molly was home. She wasn't disappointed, the red-haired woman was sitting in one of the chairs with Ginny in her arms. She glanced up, smiling when she saw Narcissa.

Sitting Ginny down properly on the couch, Molly came over and sat down, "Hello, Narcissa. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong. I was wondering if I could come and bring the children over. It's been a while since they've seen Ginny." Narcissa saw how Ginny was sitting on the couch and was reaching her hands up so that she could play with the floating mobile, the animals being all different magical creatures.

"Of course! It would be nice to hang out with you; I take it that Pandora will be sleeping in today? She went to a party with Xenophilius last night for the newspaper, so I take it she's tired," Molly responded, before Narcissa let out a breath of relief.

She would have someone who could watch over both children, she also had come to like Ginny too. She was such a shy little baby, she happened to be nine months old now. It was crazy, Narcissa remembered the little baby being two months.

"Thank you, Molly." Narcissa pulled her head out from the fire and went over to the children. She began to gather up toys for the children, left a note for Pandora to know she went over to The Burrow with the children, before she went through the Floo with Draco and Luna.

She had barely entered the living room when she heard feet thundering down the stairs, allowing her to know that the older children had heard her. Soon she was welcomed with Charlie, and Fred and George.

Charlie gave a polite smile towards Narcissa, which in return made her smile softly at him. She hadn't expected for Percy to come down, he still seemed as though he hadn't accepted her. He must have truly thought she was the same as she had been before she had left Lucius with Draco.

"You brought Draco and Luna!" Charlie exclaimed before he hurried over to the children. He had started reading to them, though most of the books that he read to them happened to be about dragons. He had loved the fact that Draco had been named after the constellation, and that his name meant dragon.

"Hi!" —

"It's nice"—

"To see you."

It was a common occurrence for both twins to finish each other's sentence. It wasn't the same for Pandora and Narcissa, maybe it was because they don't grow up with each other. It was quite humorous though, she had almost giggled when she first heard them finish a sentence together.

"It's nice to see you too, boys," Narcissa responded before they went over to where the two children were. They sat down next to Charlie, who had started to tell them a story. He always liked telling stories to them. He had such an adventurous soul; he was always eager to tell them stories.

"Come, Narcissa, let me get you some biscuits I had made for Arthur yesterday for lunch." Molly headed into the kitchen and Narcissa followed her, happy that there was no wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. They could see into the living room easily.

"I'm certain that you know your cousin is in Azkaban. I wanted to know if you think he did it," Molly wondered, as she peered down at the plate of biscuits. She hadn't ever brought up Sirius Black before except once, and it interested Narcissa. She couldn't help but be perplexed as to why she was bringing him up.

"I don't think he did it," she responded, as she placed a biscuit onto her plate. She saw how Molly brought her head up, her eyes showing surprise. She didn't ask why but Narcissa continued, "Sirius spent more time with James than he did with the rest of my family. He was never home, he thought of James as his brother. He loved him dearly, I don't think that he would kill them."

In the living room they could hear the infants giggling, allowing the mothers to know they were having a good time. Narcissa couldn't help but ask, "why are you asking me about this now, and not in the past?"

"I guess it's because I'm starting to know the real you, and you're a Black again. I never really knew what it was like for you and your family. I knew that you didn't have a good relationship with Andromeda, but I just wanted to know what your opinion on it is. I myself don't know what to believe."

Narcissa didn't know what to say about that. She couldn't imagine how Molly was feeling, so instead she took a bite of her biscuit, only to pause when she remembered the third member of the Maunders, "what about Remus? How is he taking this? I know that he was a part of their group."

Molly sighed, "Remus keeps to himself; he hasn't visited us since before Halloween. He's grieving in his own way, but I wish he was here so that we could let him know we're mourning too."

Narcissa thought back on Remus Lupin, how at even a First Year was still quite cute despite the horrendous scars that were etched across his face. His sandy blond hair was a mess and he was lanky. He kept to himself, but by the next year he was more used to being with others, especially with the other Gryffindors in his year.

"Do you think that he'll come back?" Narcissa glanced into the living room, seeing that the twins were now paying attention to their little sister. With her bright red hair, she was even prettier than she would have been with any other color.

Molly didn't know what to say, other than she hoped with all her heart he would come back. She never would imagine how things would go between Narcissa and Remus, if she did then she would have sought him out sooner.


	6. Ghosts of the Past

Chapter Six: Ghosts of the Past

**June 15th, 1983**

Over the course of a year and a half, Narcissa slowly learnt what she was capable of. She had always been on the sidelines, always looking out but never looking in. She was accustomed to being pushed to the side; she was accustomed to having someone else speak for her. She was accustomed to that person being Lucius but not anymore. She had been taught by Pandora on how to be a strong witch, one who did not need to feel as though she owed the world for simply being a witch.

It was exhilarating, she tried many things to see if she could spark a passion. She had sat down and kept her mouth closed too long, she wanted nothing more than to let her voice be heard and she was.

She was an open woman now, ready to voice her opinions, ready to show that though she had restrictions on blood purity she wouldn't push others away anymore. She might not care for half-bloods, but she wouldn't shove them away, she would always have a sour taste towards Muggle-borns. It was something too engraved.

It was a cool June day when Narcissa made her way down Hogsmeade with Draco trotting by her side—his tiny hand grasped in his mother's. He was now two and showed warmer features than he would have if Narcissa never left almost years ago. She knew he would be a happy, healthy child, like Pandora had said—he would thrive in the sunlight. He wouldn't wither from the dark.

On her right hip she had Luna in her arms, the girl was a bright blur for those that were around them due to the unique and colorful clothes Pandora had bought and made for her. Narcissa still had an elegant manner to her, her pristine features looser than before. She didn't keep eye contact with others so long, but she still looked at people and answered them without fear of Lucius telling her later she had embarrassed him or the Malfoy name.

She had just turned the corner, only to stop when she saw a familiar black-haired woman with her back turned from her. A girl, who must have been ten now, was standing next to her mother but turned her head, smiling brightly, her hair changing from a bland hair color to bright pink.

The woman with her back to her stiffened before she turned around as though she knew that someone was staring at her, her eyes widening when she stared in horror at her sister in front of her. It made it worse that Andromeda looked just like Bellatrix, though her features weren't harsh, and her eyes weren't so far gone into insanity.

Maybe Narcissa didn't deserve the love Pandora easily gave out. Maybe she should move out of the Lovegood residence. She liked being in a home setting, one where she would have her sister and her niece in the same house as her. One as to seeing her son and her niece play with each other, love each other so carefree and without any formal pureblood society boundaries set up by their mothers.

"You look well, Andromeda. She's beautiful," Narcissa merely stated, before she continued forward. Andromeda didn't reach her hand out and touched her sister's shoulder, there was no sitting down in a restaurant and talking about how they missed each other. It was something that Black sisters weren't known for; it was embarrassing to reveal weakness.

Pushing away what had just happened into the back of her mind, Narcissa soon came up to one of the children's shops that were spread throughout Hogsmeade. She always liked to spoil her little dragon and her little moon (as she had just started calling her recently), though now she had her money by creating custom shoes for clients back in the coziness of the Lovegood residence.

Her shoes were pushing the boundary, some wondered how she could even fit a heel to the shoe, others wondered how she could find the right amount of feathers that wouldn't make the heels tacky. She had an eye for fashion, and hers happened to be something that almost every modern fashionable witch wore…well any well-off witch wore.

Entering the store, it didn't take long for both milky blonde-haired children to hurry off to the toys section of the store that was meant for their age. She smoothed down her deep green robes she had on, which in return made her remember her House. She still loved being in Slytherin, she hated how the House had a bad reputation even now—over a decade later. Then again, **he **was still alive, unlike now.

She barely paid attention to the door opening behind her until she could feel the trademark magic of the most powerful wizard she had ever known, Albus Dumbledore. He was her headmaster at Hogwarts, he was the one who defeated Grindelwald (the original dark lord).

"Hello, Narcissa! I couldn't help but see you in the display window when I was heading back up to Hogwarts after a successful time in Honeydukes," Albus Dumbledore stated, which in return made Narcissa almost roll her eyes inwardly at the calm and knowing tone that came from the long gray haired (and bearded) wizard.

Turning her head, Narcissa gave a smile of her own towards Dumbledore, reaching her hand out for him to shake. Instead he picked up her hand and gave her wrist a peck. She hadn't been greeted with the old familiarity as before, she didn't know if she should feel insulted or pleased.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore. How was your school year? Last I heard Bill was doing well," Narcissa remarked, knowing that Bill Weasley, as he preferred to be called Bill, had just finished his Second year at Hogwarts. In September he would be in his Third Year, and Charlie would be entering Hogwarts. He would surely follow his elder brother and family linage; he would become a Gryffindor.

"He was very well, a good lad. No Howlers from Molly," Dumbledore told her, while in the background they could hear giggling from the corner of the room. Narcissa glanced over her shoulder, her eyes landing on Draco and Luna again. They were still in their own little world.

"Ah, I see that young Draco and Luna are having a nice time. Would you mind if I go and see them?" A twinkle was in Dumbledore's eyes, as though he wanted nothing more than to properly meet Draco. He was after all the reason why Narcissa had left the dark side.

Narcissa should have known that this would happen eventually, he would finally see her. She was thankful it took almost two years for him to run into her, she always managed to avoid him in Hogsmeade but then again it was always during the school season. He was always busy with Hogwarts to come down, unless it was on Hogsmeade days for the students.

"Of course." Narcissa trailed after Dumbledore, observing him as he reached the children and sat down so that he was at their level.

Luna was reaching forward as though she was trying to touch something that was next to him. While Draco glanced up at the old man before he went back to playing with the animated dragon, it seemed as though Charlie had rubbed off on him.

"How is your sister?"

Narcissa noted how he didn't turn to look at her, but obviously he was asking her. "She's doing fine, she's busy today. She's had to run some errands in Diagon Alley so that she could get some ingredients for her potions."

"Ah, yes, she was a wonderful Potions student. She was almost neck in neck with Severus. Of course, she was often known for creating her own potions by sheer talent. She showed me her notebook one school year, but she had said she would keep them away from the Board of Healers. She doesn't truly trust them."

This Narcissa knew, her sister and brother-in-law had a thriving hatred towards the Ministry as a whole. It would only make sense that it would evolve to hating St. Mungo's and the board all entirely. She had her own sense of healing, but she had allowed Beth to look over Luna because she was being polite and didn't want to shun out the woman due to Draco and Narcissa's predicament.

Narcissa was amazing at Charms, she was certain that Professor Flitwick was proud of her immensely. She did all right with Transfiguration; she was like any other student when it came to that subject. She was inwardly disturbed when it came to Defense against the Dark Arts. She knew that Lucius had to learn these spells in order to be admired by the Dark Lord, or else he would have probably been killed. He wouldn't even make it to his eighteenth birthday, that she was certain.

"Narcissa, dear, what troubles you so?" Narcissa turned to look at Dumbledore, there was nothing more than concern in his eyes. Sunlight came and flickered against his half moon glasses, causing a glare.

She cleared her throat and straightened her back before she remarked, "nothing is wrong. Just thinking of the past, that is all."

Dumbledore gave a knowing nod, as though letting her know he understood that she was still troubled after almost two years. "Understandable, my dear. I must ask that you allow me to help Draco. Under my guidance also I am certain that he will be even stronger in his own self."

Narcissa almost wanted to tell him that she didn't need him to guide Draco, but she pondered for a moment before she nodded her head. "Not now, wait at least another year. I do not want him to feel pressured. He is still so young."

"Of course, my dear. It was nice to see you. It has been a long time since I last saw you. I must also tell you I am proud of you. I know that leaving Lucius was the most difficult decision you could make," Dumbledore finished.

Narcissa didn't stay much longer in Hogsmeade after her encounter with Andromeda, Nymphadora, and Dumbledore. It was almost as though all the ghosts of her past decided to revisit her, reminding her how she was in the past. Both were unsettling, one made sure to keep her daughter away from her and the other offered to guide Draco in the future when it came to be a wizard.

She didn't tell Pandora about what had happened in Hogsmeade, she wanted to keep this to herself. She instead busied herself with sketching out new designs for her shoes only to look up when she heard the front door being knocked on. She furled her eyebrows, knowing that Lucius couldn't possibly be here. He wouldn't get his visitation until the next week.

Opening the front door, Narcissa was welcomed with Molly standing in front of her with a light weight, quarter sleeved sweater. Her hair was still a mane as always, bright in every way. Her face was dusted with freckles and she looked as though she was the perfect embodiment of a loving mother.

"Albus just told me that you've allowed him to tutor Draco," Molly said, before Narcissa could say hello.

A part of Narcissa almost growled at the fact that there was no secrets with Dumbledore and those who were prominent on the light side. It would only make sense he would tell her, proud of the fact that Molly had given her a chance—which in return meant that something like this would become true and not just a faraway reality.

"Who else knows?" Narcissa moved out of the way so Molly could come in. She shut the door behind her and together they went over to the couch before they sat down. Molly responded, "everyone from the Order."

Ah, Narcissa knew of the Order. They were technically the Order of the Phoenix and had been created when the Dark Lord was at his highest. They were the ones who were determined to vanquish him, though as of now it was Harry Potter that had vanquished him.

"Are you certain that they will accept this? They know the history of my family, I do not know if they want Draco being taught," Narcissa admitted, she was more afraid that they would shove her to the side. She thought that they would remind her of her sins though she was still haunted by them daily.

"Of course, Narcissa. Everyone deserves a second chance," Molly remarked, though inwardly Narcissa wondered if Molly would forgive Sirius if it turned out he didn't kill Lily and James Potter. She knew she felt funny when it came to the fact that he would do such a thing, as she stated before she had seen how he was with James and knew that he would never kill his best friend and surrogate brother.

She didn't voice this either, it was a common occurrence that Molly was very bipolar when it came to the subject of Narcissa's cousin. Besides she looked so happy, so peaceful with the fact that Narcissa had accepted Dumbledore's request. She probably never thought she would.

"Will I ever meet them?"

Upstairs Draco and Luna were taking their afternoon naps. She was thankful they were heavy sleepers, they always enjoyed sleeping with each other. She's sometimes come upstairs and find them holding hands in the middle of their naps, as though they found comfort in each other.

"Yes, a little after Draco gets more adjusted to being taught. We don't want to pressure him with having all of us around him. I know that it would be hard enough for him, we don't want him to be discouraged or not want to do this after all," Molly confessed, though for some odd reason Narcissa wondered why Dumbledore hadn't come to Molly and asked her if she wouldn't mind having her sons and daughter being taught.

Molly stayed a little longer, but not too long. After all she was a mother of seven and she had to be in her house to keep the chaos contained. Again, Narcissa had no idea how the woman could handle having so many children.

That night, as everyone ate together at the kitchen table, Narcissa played with her food. Her fork pushed around the food, as she wondered if she should approach what had happened today after all. She didn't know how Pandora would think about the offer from Dumbledore, she already knew that she would understand about the whole Andromeda and Nymphadora subject.

As though she sensed this, Pandora spoke, "what is troubling you, sister? I can tell that you are wondering if you should tell me something or not. Know that I will always listen, but also respect you if you decide not to share something with me."

Narcissa took a deep breath before she whispered, "I ran into Dumbledore today, when I was in Hogsmeade with the children."

Xenophilius glanced up from his meal, as though he was waiting to hear what her opinion on the matter was. As far as Narcissa knew he didn't have a strong opinion towards the wizard.

"He offered to tutor Draco when it comes to magic when he is older," Narcissa added, knowing that years ago she would have never imagined that this would have happened. She would have never imagined she would accept what Dumbledore requested, nor did she expect it to be him helping Draco.

"You are surprised as to why he would offer his assistance. Although you have a complicated history with him, I know for certain that he wants nothing but the best for you and your son." Pandora reached her hand out and grabbed Narcissa's, giving it a gentle squeeze as though to assure her that there was nothing she should be worried about.

"Thank you, Pandora," Narcissa mumbled, her eyes showing nothing more than appreciation towards the fact that one of her sisters loved her unconditionally and listened to her. Bellatrix only cared about herself, and if anyone went against her, she would make sure they would remember.

The rest of dinner went by well, there was no awkward conversations between any of them. Xenophilius did as he always did, he ate without speaking to either of them. It was common for the man to never talk to either women while Narcissa was in the room. It was obvious that he would never trust Narcissa, for as long as he lived, due to her dark past.

For the remaining night Narcissa sat in the living room and sketched out her shoes for some witches that were in Italy. She was excited, since she would get to charm the shoes to do special things, which in return would make her even more famous. She was so thrilled that she got to live out one of her dreams.

Pandora sat in one of the chairs throughout the room, knitting what looked like a toboggan. It was smaller, so Narcissa knew she was probably making one for either Draco or Luna. Or maybe she would make two, make them identical so that the children would have matching toboggans.

Eventually Pandora went to bed, only after she leant forward and kissed her sister on the cheek. Narcisa bid her a good night before she paid attention on her sketches, making sure that she was content with what she was sketching out for now.

On rare nights Narcissa had insomnia, she wasn't burdened with it all the time. It was only when her mind was troubled that she would stay up later than she normally did. It was always annoying; she would wake up after getting less sleep than usual groggy. She'd have to nurse a cup of tea while her mind was elsewhere, she'd have to ask others to repeat what they had said—it always annoyed Lucius immensely, especially when he would tell her something that was extremely important from the Ministry that she needed to know.

The next morning, Narcissa did indeed nurse a cup of tea in her hands, as she sat outside on the bench underneath the window. Her eyes caught onto the green hills that spread out for miles. She wore one of her night robes still, along with her pajamas, something she would have never imagined she would have done. She would have made sure she was in her daytime clothes first thing in the morning, but then against she was living freer than before.

She was away in her thoughts she didn't even know that Pandora had come out with Draco until she turned her head. She smiled largely at seeing her son, his hair beautiful in the beaming sunlight. He giggled up at his mother and reached his hands out as though he was waiting for her to pick him up, she did so without a second thought—snuggling him against her.

"Hello, my little dragon," she cooed to him, he ate up the attention. He always was one that enjoyed having all the attention on him. He wasn't a spoiled brat though; she knew that if se had still been a Malfoy he would have become one—he would have demanded all the attention on him.

"I made breakfast; I'll make you a plate. When you come in you can use a heating charm if you need to. I'll be in my lab working on some potions if you need me," Pandora informed her, allowing Narcissa to nod her head. She knew that Pandora could work on her potions more since Narcissa came into her life.

It was a warm Scottish day, a little warmer than what was accustomed to the country, and it was very relaxing. She spent as much time as possible in the gardens back at the manor. There were no gardens around the house here, but she knew that there were wildflowers that grew throughout the hills so if she wanted to, she could pluck some and put them in a vase.

Instead she stayed where she was, watching the scenery around her. In the distance she swore she could see The Burrow, though it was only a silhouette of its shape. She smiled as she thought of the children that lived in that house, they knew nothing more than unconditional love from their parents. Their father worked so hard for them to have food on the table, Narcissa didn't know how hard Arthur Weasley worked until she knew the family.

She frowned when she saw a figure of a child running into her direction. As they came closer, she found that it was Charlie that was coming towards her with a pile of books in his arms. She inwardly rolled her eyes, betting that he begged his mother to allow him to come over and read to the babies.

"Hi, Ms. Black!"

Charlie called out, as he came close enough that she could hear him. The red-haired boy with an array of freckles smothering his features beamed at the woman in front of her. A part of her wanted him to call her aunt though she paused a moment later—wondering why she even thought that to begin with.

"Hello, Charlie. Did your mum give you permission to come over?" Narcissa teased him, causing Charlie to blush and then nod his head. She smiled at him before she moved Draco so that he could see him.

"Come inside." Narcissa stood up and went into the house, telling Charlie to take care of the children before she went upstairs and changed into her day clothes, knowing that now she had a visitor over she needed to be dressed properly.

When she reached the ground floor Narcissa couldn't help but smile softly at the sight of Charlie reading to the children. A quiet part of her wanted nothing more than to tuck this into her mind, never to forget it. She wanted nothing more than to have another child, though she knew she couldn't.

Sitting down on the couch, Narcissa pushed those thoughts away and focused on the happy scene in front of her.


End file.
